Living on the Edge
by billybobt
Summary: Harry, believing he has nothing left, leaves Britain to learn how to defeat Voldemort. During his travels he will learn many things, forge several lasting friendships and maybe he'll learn a thing or two about himself along the way. Multi-crossover, HP/NR/KS
1. Preface

**Preface**

Notes:

This story will be a multi-crossover with the main elements drawn from Harry Potter and Avengers. Some crossover with the DC element as I draw a couple of character through for my story. As always, all characters, universes, slogans, etc... belong to their respective owners.

I received a review and a couple of P.M.s saying that the formatting needs to be broken up to help the flow of the story. I can see the point, so have update the chapters already posted.

Summary:

Harry, believing he has nothing left, leaves Britain to learn how to defeat Voldemort. During his travels he will learn many things, forge several lasting friendships and maybe he'll learn a thing or two about himself along the way. Multi-crossover, HP/NR/KS

Cast of Characters (As I see them in my head anyway):

Harry Potter – Daniel Radcliff

Hermione Granger – Imogen Poots

Emilia Rose Granger-Potter – Dakota Fanning

Natasha Romanova (The Black Widow) – Alexandra Daddario

Karen Starr (Power Girl/Kara Zor-L) – Rachel Hurd-Wood

Dobby – Dobby

Death – Eliza Dushku


	2. Chapter 1 - It's Over Harry

I own nothing. Nothing at all. It belongs to J.K.R., Marvel, D.C. Warner and whomever else has a claim on it. I'm just playing in their sandbox making a mess of things.

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **It's Over Harry**

Harry entered the head suite he was sharing with Hermione with a spring in his step and a grin on his face that threatened to split his face from ear to ear. He had finally made his decision. A decision that would change his life for what he hoped was the better. Next Wednesday, just 4 short days away, is Valentine's Day, and Harry plans to propose to his girlfriend of nearly 2 years, Hermione Granger.

With his house elf friend Dobby's help, Harry was planning a special evening in The Room of Requirement with the setting of a private dinner on the Eiffel tower, followed by dancing; those hard won skills from his fourth year preparing for the Yule Ball with Hermione, popping the question after their first dance much like he did at the Yule Ball when he asked Hermione to be his girlfriend.

-LotE-

It amazed Harry that the two of them were lucky enough to end up sharing the Gryffindor Head Boy/Girl suite. The Head Girl this year was a Hufflepuff, and Luna had been assigned the head boy suite in the Hufflepuff dorm. Likewise, Neville was sharing the Ravenclaw suite with the Head Boy. By some twist of fate, Professor McGonagall had pulled Harry and Hermione aside and let them know she was placing an awful lot of trust in the two of them to share the head suite.

"Do not disappoint me Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. I am placing my trust in the two of you. Consider this a practice run for next year." That was as good as saying the two of them would be the Heads next year, provided they behaved themselves this year.

-LotE-

Harry couldn't help but smile at the memory. It was probably the only good thing that came from that Halloween night. He still had a hard time believing that Ron could let Slytherins into Gryffindor Tower so they could attack Hermione and him while they slept.

Hermione had talked to her parents over Christmas break and explained everything that was going on in the Wizarding World to them, begging them to leave the country for a time to stay safe. They were rather put out with Hermione for several days as they digested everything she had to tell them and her refusal to leave with them.

"My place is, and always will be, at Harry's side. " Hermione told her parents with tears in her eyes at what she was asking them to do.

Only she knew that no matter what decision they arrived at on their own, they were leaving the country. If she had to Obliviate them to get them to leave, then she would deal with the consequences of that later.

"I love him daddy, with all my heart. He would storm the gates of Hades doused in petrol for me, and there isn't a place he can go that I won't follow. He's my best friend, my love, my future. But I need you in my future too. Please Daddy, do this for me. Take that sabbatical to Australia you and Mum have been talking about for years. Please Daddy."

In the end, Samuel and Paulina Granger agreed to take a one year sabbatical to Australia working with Doctor Without Borders and one of Samuel's buddies from his S.A.S. days. Hermione would see her parents off at Heathrow Airport December 31st and return to Hogwarts that night. The moving company would come to pack up the house January 2nd and move everything left in the house to long term that Hermione wanted to keep with her was now in her enchanted beaded bag that she had been working on for the past couple of months of Hogwarts. Bigger on the inside just didn't do this bag justice.

Harry was surprised to see Hermione in the Great Hall for dinner that night and felt a pang of regret and guilt at the fact that Hermione felt she had to send her parents away to keep them safe because of the war. While true that she, and by extension her family, were on Tommy Boy's list just below Harry himself, he still felt guilty that she was effectively losing her parents because of him.

They strolled back to their suite hand in hand that night; Hermione rose up on her tip toes to kiss him good night. Harry opened the door to his room when Hermione called out to him. "Harry? Can I… can I stay with you tonight. I don't think I can be alone… with my thoughts…" tears springing to her eyes.

"Of course you can Hermione. Get changed and I'll meet you in my room in 20 minutes or so." Harry told her.

Both performed their nightly routines, Harry climbing into his bed to await Hermione. When she crawled into bed with him a few minutes later, he pulled her close to him, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling her scent, lilac, vanilla and parchment, pure Hermione. They lay like that for several minutes before Hermione shifted in his grip, turning to face him. Placing a soft, tender loving kiss on his lips, Hermione spoke.

"Make love to me tonight Harry. Make me yours completely."So they did, several times that night and into the next morning. 1997 was starting off with a bang.

Harry had heard once that whatever you start a new year doing, you would be doing a lot of it throughout the year. He sure hoped that was true after this night, a night that would forever be burned into his memory and would fuel his Patronus for years.

-LotE-

Shaking himself out of his memory, Harry looked around the common room for Hermione. Seeing her curled up in old arm chair, reading a book in front of the fireplace, Harry made his way over to her. Still grinning he leaned down kissing the top of her head, startling her. She looked up to see Harry standing beside her, still grinning. "It wasn't that funny Mr. Potter. How was your trip? Did you and Professor Dumbledore find what you were looking for?"

-LotE-

After Hermione and the other the other students left for the Yule Break, Harry had confronted Dumbledore about how Dumbledore seemed to be intentionally taking his time dragging out the so called lessons on Tom Riddle.

"Time is short." Harry told the Professor.

"That curse is getting closer and closer your heart. What's to happen if you die in your sleep tonight or maybe tomorrow night? Are you prepared such an occasion? Are you prepared to doom us all to be ruled by Voldemort over your own hubris Professor, all because you just had to be in control up to the very end?

"Is there a succession plan in place for the Order once you're gone, or is that yet one more thing you continue to put off? I'll be honest with you here Professor, I'm not impressed. You are dying, and you are putting off entirely too much and dragging out things entirely too long for the time you have left. Everything we've covered so far over the past 4 months could have taken place over a weekend between breakfast and dinner.

"So tell me Professor, tell me honestly, do you care so little for everyone else that you can't start releasing control of everything, tying up loose ends, and making sure we're all prepared for the inevitable?"

Dumbledore sat back watching Harry intently through his tirade. Paying very close attention to what Harry was saying, and more importantly, to what Harry wasn't saying. It struck Dumbledore that with Harry's phrasing, Harry believed that Dumbledore didn't care for him. This hurt Dumbledore almost as badly as the night his dear sister Ariana was killed.

A single tear rolled down his cheek and into his beard as he closed his eyes and tried to place himself in Harry's shoes and look back at his life. Soon, more tears followed the first as he could see Harry's point of view in everything for the first time and he decided Harry was absolutely correct. He had been putting off entirely too many things that absolutely had to be dealt with before his time passed and he started his next great adventure.

He only hoped Harry would forgive him before his time was up.

Opening his eyes, resettling his glasses on his nose and peering at Harry, Dumbledore spoke.

"You are correct Harry. As sad as it may seem, I have been putting off tasks that I know cannot wait. I apologize for that and I am sorrier than I could ever express about the life you had to live up to this point.

"Please return after breaking your fast tomorrow and we shall, as the muggles say, power through this. I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me my hubris.

"I shall call on Order meeting next week and let Minerva and Alastor know of the current and future plans. Now, I believe I shall enjoy a hot cocoa before turning in for the night, and I shall see you tomorrow morning."

-LotE-

This past Thursday morning, Dumbledore had called Harry to his office. He had finally tracked down the old caretaker at Riddle's orphanage and retrieved a memory from her. It was Dumbledore's belief that there very well may be a horcrux hidden in the cave that was spoken of in the memory.

Dumbledore and Harry had left that evening after both had told those that needed to know they were leaving for the evening, possibly a day or so. Harry spoke to Hermione, Neville and Luna letting them know what going on; Dumbledore to McGonagall and Moody.

Finding the cave and entering it was not much of a problem. Retrieving the horcrux turned into an argument between the old wizard and the younger wizard. Dumbledore wanted Harry to force him to drink the vile concoction, but Harry refused. Having enough, Harry punched Dumbledore in the nose, breaking it again, and conjured a muggle 5 gallon paint bucket. Taking the provided goblet, Harry poured the vile potion into the bucket. Seeing the bucket hold the potion and the basin level lower, Harry shot a triumphant smirk at the aged professor.

"Well done Harry. Not the method I would have used, but effective none the less." Fifteen minutes later, the two wizards were exiting the cave and swimming back to the entrance.

Once on solid ground again, Harry pulled the locket from his pocket.

Opening the locket, "It's a fake Professor. I knew it didn't feel right when I grabbed it, but I just wanted to get out there."

Handing the locket to Dumbledore, Dumbledore removed the note from it, reading it to himself. "R.A.B. Hmmm… It feels like I should know this, but it's just out reach."Dumbledore muttered to himself.

"R.A.B. Is that what you said?" Harry asked grabbing the note. "Kreature!" Harry called.

The old elf popped into existence next to Harry muttering about the shame of the Blacks with a filthy half-blood as it's lord. Harry cocked an eyebrow hearing this, 'What's this about being a lord?' Harry wondered to himself, filling the information away for later.

Holding up the locket Harry asked "Do you recognize this Kreature? It looks similar to the one you rescued from the trash after Molly Weasley threw it away. The note is signed R.A.B. Is that Master Regulus Kreature? Is this how he died?"

Kreature's eyes went wide seeing the locket and he began to relay the story of Master Regulus' death and Kreature's subsequent orders to destroy the locket.

"Kreature is a bad elf. Kreature has tried everything he could to destroy the locket and Kreature has failed." Kreature wailed.

"No Kreature. You did all you could, now it's my turn to help you fulfill Master Regulus' last wish. Retrieve the locket and bring it back to me here Kreature and I will make sure it's destroyed while you watch." Harry told the old house elf. Kreature popped away to do his new master's bidding.

"Dobby!" Harry called. When the eccentric little elf popped in, Harry asked "I need you to bring me the mahogany box from my room please, Dobby." Dobby returned moments later with a beautiful mahogany box 16" long, 6" wide and 6" deep with a basilisk carved into lid.

"Here is your snakey box Great Master Harry Potter Sir. Is there anything else Dobby can be helping you with?" Dobby asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet, excited to be helping his Great Harry Potter Sir.

"No Dobby, you've helped me greatly. You may stay and watch if you wish." Harry told Dobby as Kreature popped back with the locket.

As soon as Harry touched it, he knew that this was the real locket. And he had felt the exact same thing while in the Room of Hidden Things not 3 weeks prior.

"On second thought Dobby, can you feel the aura from this locket Dobby? I need you to return to Hogwarts Dobby." At Dobby's nod, Harry closed his eyes and mentally retraced his steps to the tiara he felt this aura come from and relayed those directions to Dobby.

"In the Room of Hidden Things is a tiara on a bust of a wizard wearing a blue wig. Retrieve that tiara and bring it back to me here Dobby." Dumbledore stood back, eyes twinkling, watching as Harry had the two elves popping around retrieving things for him.

"Kreature has felt the same on a cup in Mistress Bella's vault at Gringotts Master." Kreature muttered to Harry.

Dobby popped back in with the wizard bust with the wig and tiara still on it."Dobby did not like the feel of the magic Master Harry Potter Sir. So Dobby be bringing it all. Dobby hopes this is alright Master Harry Potter Sir."

Harry could only nod his head as he pondered what Kreature had told him. "That's perfect Dobby. Stay here for the time being. Kreature, can you retrieve the cup you felt this magic on from Bellatrix's vault?" Harry asked the elf.

"Kreature can do. Kreature is on Mistress' list to remove and add items." Harry removed opened the mahogany box and removed a pair of basilisk hide gloves.

Handing the gloves to Kreature, Harry told the old elf "Wear these gloves and bring that cup back to me here Kreature. Do not betray me Kreature."

Harry pulled a second set of gloves from the mahogany box and put them on. Placing the locket on a nearby boulder, Harry reached back into the box and pulled out a 13" basilisk fang. The fang had basilisk hide wrapped around it from the base all the way down to about an inch from tip.

Kreature popped back with cup and put it down next to the wizard bust. Harry and Kreature locked eyes for a moment, then with no warning, Harry drove the basilisk fang into locket. A loud scream came from the locket as black cloud rose from the hole created by the fang.

Nodding once, Kreature handed Harry the cup. Placing the cup on the boulder, Harry repeated the exercise again. Once again a loud scream followed by a black cloud rose from the cup.

Nodding once again, Kreature handed the tiara to Harry. For a third time that night, a loud scream and black cloud rose when Harry stabbed the tiara with the fang.

"Thank you both my friends. You have helped me more than you will ever realize tonight. Take Master Regulus' locket Kreature and remember him. It is yours now. Would you prefer to remain at Grimmauld Place or would you like to work at Hogwarts?" Harry asked the elf.

"Kreature would like to stay at Black Family home Master." Kreature told Harry.

"Then return there with my thanks Kreature. Dobby, thank you for your help tonight, you helped destroy 3 pieces of old Snake Face tonight." Dobby threw himself at Harry and hugged Harry's knees before popping off back to Hogwarts with tears in his eyes, murmuring about how great the Great Harry Potter Sir was.

Harry's eyes were twinkling on par with Dumbledore as he began cleaning up his "work area". "That's three Sir. Somehow I can't help but think I, or we, dodged a serious train wreck somehow." Harry told Dumbledore as he finished cleaning up the area, pocketing the basilisk box and placing the three destroyed horcruxes in a conjured paper grocery bag, handing them the bag to Dumbledore.

"A most excellent job tonight Harry. I would have never thought that Sirius' brother would turn on Voldemort as he so obviously did in the end. A stroke of absolute genius calling on Kreature, Harry. Words simply cannot express the joy I have knowing we are that much closer to completing this once and for all. A couple of questions if I may though Harry. Simply to satisfy an old mans curiosity if you would."

At Harry's nod, Dumbledore asked, "I noticed your scar after the Yule Break no longer looks inflamed and angry. Did something happen to you during the break? Something profound or life changing perhaps? And how did you recognize the Ravenclaw's diadem for what it was?"

Harry looked at the old wizard, really looked at him to judge for himself if Dumbledore truly was curious, or if Dumbledore had an ulterior motive. Dumbledore seemed to realize he was be weighed and judged so did not say anything while Harry stared at him.

"Let's head to Grimmauld and talk over some cocoa Professor. It's a bit of a long story." Reaching out and taking Dumbledore's arm, the old wizard apparated them to Grimmauld Place. Entering the kitchen, Harry began to prepare the cocoa for himself and Dumbledore as he began to speak.

He told the Dumbledore of how he did not know he would be able to take Potions due to the change in teacher and acceptance level. With his EE in Potions on his O.W.L.S, he was qualified to take Potions under Professor Slughorn.

Not knowing this fact during the summer, he did not purchase the new book, explaining this to Professor Slughorn, the professor had allowed him to borrow a copy from the ingredient cupboard until he could get his own through Owl Order.

It turned out the copy he borrowed had been heavily annotated and had some spells he never heard of in the book. This had led to his and Hermione's first big fight, and rather than fight her over the book, he decided to get rid of it even though the research he had put into the recommended changes to the potions always increased the yield or efficiency of the potion.

Harry had asked Dobby where a good place to hide the book would be, and Dobby had pointed him to the Room of Hidden Things. While hiding the book, that's when he had run across the wizards bust and thought 'My, what an ugly statue and wig for such a pretty tiara.' Not liking the feel his scar gave him when he was near the tiara, he avoided it on future explorations, but always remembered the feel that it gave me.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. Harry's story confirmed to him that Harry was indeed a horcrux and would have to die to finish Voldemort. He could only hope for a miracle for Harry and Hermione's sake. Harry finished off his cocoa and retrieved a Butter Beer from the cooling cupboard for himself and Dumbledore, having noticed Dumbledore had finished his cocoa while Harry was telling his back at the table Harry began the rest of his tale, telling Dumbledore of the conversation that Hermione had with her parents and the results of that conversation. Pausing in his story he told Dumbledore,

"Remind me, when we leave here, for me to use the payphone in the park to call Hermione's parents please. I need to ask her father permission to marry his daughter." Dumbledore winced internally, but nodded none the less.

Harry then told Dumbledore what happened the night Hermione came back to Hogwarts early, that they had made love for the first time New Years Eve and continued into the early morning hours of New Years Day.

"It was the second time we made love I guess. The first time was…. bumbling and awkward. But the second time… the second time seemed almost magical. We were just so in tune with each other, almost like one of us knew exactly what the other needed and vice versa.

"At the…. Climax of the event, my scar burst open dripping thick black puss and blood and a smoky cloud like the horcruxes we destroyed tonight released. I didn't think much of it then, just figured I had pissed in ole Snake Face's head like he was doing to me during fifth year." Harry told Dumbledore.

"Looking back on it, my scar hasn't bothered me a bit since that night." Harry appeared deep in thought and Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling full force. Harry had inadvertently destroyed the horcrux in his scar that night. 'Oh Harry, you brave, brave, lucky boy. Yes Harry, the power of love.'

"You know, since that next day, it feels like I have a finer control of my magic too. Studying and retaining what I've studied seems so much easier since that night too. It's like; whatever was released was blocking part of my mind and my magic." Harry was staring at Dumbledore now, not liking where this train of thought was taking him, but having to know regardless.

"I was a horcrux, wasn't I Sir." A statement, not a question, Dumbledore noticed. "I was keeping the bastard alive wasn't I? And Hermione and I, we…. We shagged it right out, didn't we?" Harry was laughing now. Oh, he was mad, mad at Dumbledore for keeping yet another secret from him, but laughing all the same at the thought of how that particular horcrux was destroyed.

"I believe you were Harry. I had hoped and prayed that you were not since the day you slapped that diary down on my desk, but I also knew it was a very real probability." Dumbledore told the laughing teen.

"I believe that leaves us with just Nagini and Tom himself Harry. A much more realistic goal it would seem. Now, it's come 3 in the morning. Let us sleep here for a few hours tonight, and return to Hogwarts in the morning for breakfast."

-LotE-

Friday morning Harry made his phone call to Samuel Granger. After speaking with both Hermione's mother and father, he had their blessing to ask Hermione to marry him. Relaying this information to Dumbledore, their next stop was the Leaky Cauldron for breakfast, then onto Gringotts to search Harry's family vault for a suitable engagement had to have Dumbledore with him to enter the vault, because Dumbledore was his magical guardian.

Once "The Ring" was found, Harry accosted Dumbledore again. "So, if you die before I turn 17, what happens to my guardianship?"

This question startled Dumbledore, as he honestly had not thought of it. Giving Harry a sharp nod, they returned to the surface to visit the Potter account manager, Boneclaw.

While speaking with Boneclaw, it was determined that the Black account manager, Knutsack would be needed also. Dumbledore had refused to allow Harry to attend Sirius' will reading, not that Harry knew when or where the reading took place as he was locked up at Durzkaban.

As the meeting progressed, Harry grew more and more angry with the manipulations of Dumbledore. Sirius' will was read to Harry, and Harry should have already been emancipated as of his 16th birthday in accordance to Sirius' will.

Then the Potter will was read and Harry was using every meditation technique that he knew to not strangle Dumbledore with his own beard. He was never to be sent to the Dursley family. His aunt Petunia, wasn't even really his aunt.

Lily Evans was adopted by the Evans family when Lily was 3 months old. Thomas, a squib from a long line of squibs, and Iris, a squib from the Prewitt line, Molly Weasley's older sister to be exact, Evans adopted their god daughter Sally Lovegood, changing her name to Lily Evans. All of this was told to Lily on her 15th birthday. Petunia had found out about all this right before Lily got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

"I'll never go back there Old Man. Petunia knew all of this and kept me around to use and abuse me. That makes her no better than Malfoy in my book. If you so much as even start to suggest I return there, for whatever asinine reason, I'll break your damn nose again." Harry told Dumbledore then proceeded to ignore him as he set to signing the paper work that would change his life that point on.

Leaving Boneclaw's office 5 hours after entering, Harry carried with him a new messenger bag, enchanted to be larger on the inside of course, containing several thick tomes that had all of his known assets listed right down to the last knut as of 3 hours ago.

"I'll be heading back to Grimmauld tonight. I need time to process everything that's happened today, and honestly, I cannot stand the thought of being anywhere near you right now." Harry told Dumbledore just before Harry apparated off.

Sighing to himself, Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts to await what the verdict of Harry's pondering would bring.

-LotE-

Harry relayed all of this to Hermione with the exception of speaking with her parents and getting "The Ring". That was for Valentine's Day.

Harry was watching Hermione as he told her what had happened over the course of the last couple of days. He noticed she kept one hand on her stomach just below her belly button for most of the story, like her stomach was cramping or something and the occasional wince could be seen on her face.

She hadn't smiled once through the story, not even when he told her of the success with the horcruxes. The expression she wore wasn't quite a frown, but it definitely wasn't a smile.

"Are you okay Hermione? You don't seem as if you're happy about what I've told you."Harry asked, concern evident in his voice.

Hermione looked up at Harry. "I can't believe you told the Headmaster that we had sex. Honestly Harry, is nothing private to you? Did you tell him we shagged like bunnies for nearly 6 hours? Do you go around telling all your friends about your conquest of the know-it-all bookworm Hermione Granger? Is that all I am to you is just some conquest Harry Potter?"

Harry was shocked at the accusations Hermione was throwing at him. 'How could she think so little of me?'

"No Hermione, I've not told anyone, anything that we've done up to now. The only reason I spoke with Dumbledore about it because he straight out asked me if something profound happened. And it did, Love. You complete every part of me Hermione Granger. I love you with..."

Hermione cut Harry off. "We're over Harry Potter. I can't believe you would use me like that and then tell God and everyone else. Get out! Get out of my sight! You disgust me Harry James Potter! I never want to see you again!" Hermione was shaking with anger now, spittle flying from her mouth as she shouted at Harry.

Harry reeled back as if he had been slapped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. What in Merlin's name had happened in the two days he had been gone. His brain was shutting down on him in shock now. Still standing there stunned at what he had heard, Hermione let fly with everything she could put into slapping Harry across the face, knocking him to the floor and rebooting his brain.

"Get out and don't come back." She stated flatly as she flung herself back into her chair.

Pulling himself to his feet, tears in his eyes from his heart breaking, Harry nodded once in Hermione's direction, turned on his heel and walked into his room.

Harry had nothing left. He lost the Weasley family over Ron's petty jealously in fourth year. Ron still held a grudge because Hermione and Harry had started dating that year. Family sticks together and all that apparently, even when one of them is so blatantly wrong.

Neville and Luna were as into each other as Harry and Hermione were into themselves. They would be fine.

Dumbledore, the master manipulator, the chess master, The Head Bastard, could no longer be trusted.

And Hermione had just ripped his heart out of his chest and destroyed it in front of his eyes. Harry nodded to himself, "Dobby! I need you little friend."

Dobby popped into Harry's room, seeing the distraught wizard immediately asked, "Oh, Master Harry Potter Sir, what has happens to you? What can Dobby do?"

Harry placed his hand on Dobby's shoulder, "Do you still wish to work for me, to bond with me Dobby?"

At Dobby's nod Harry continued, "Then I accept Dobby the House Elf into the Potter family. Magic for magic, service for service, family for family."

"Dobby Elf accept bond to Potter family. Magic for magic, service for service, family for family." Dobby spoke, tears in his tennis ball sized eyes.

Harry nodded, "Good, now, it's time to pack my things Dobby. We'll be leaving tonight. Make sure you track down anything of mine anywhere in the castle. If you need help, just ask."

Dobby began his task of gather his Master's belongings. Popping all over the castle retrieving things that had been "borrowed" or more likely stolen and sold.

Three hours later the excitable elf had retrieved all of his Master's belongings, even his Master's sword from Professor Whisker's office, and all those shiny instruments that had his Master's blood in them from Professor Whisker's office and Professor Greazy's office.

"Dobby is done Master Harry Potter Sir. He has collected everything that belongs to Master Harry Potter Sir from all over the castle." Dobby told Harry, rousing him from his doze in his desk chair.

"Good. We'll be going to this flat in London for the time being." Pointing the listing in the Potter Family Property Book. "I'll meet you there shortly Dobby."

As the elf popped off, Harry took "The Ring" from his pocket and placed it in the center of the now empty desk. "I love you Hermione. I'm sorry for whatever it is that I did to make you hate me so."

Pulling on his father's cloak, he left his room heading for the Humpbacked Witch on the fourth floor. Making his way across the ward line 30 minutes later Harry apparated to the alley outside Gringotts. It was time for Harry James Potter to disappear and Harold Evan Jameson to take his place and Gringotts could help with that.


	3. Chapter 2 - He's Gone

Insert standard ownership disclaimer and witty one liner here.

 **Chapter 2**

 **He's Gone**

After Harry left the room, Hermione cried herself to sleep in her chair. 'What is wrong with me? I know I over reacted and fixated on that on small detail, but I couldn't stop myself. What is happening to me?' were the last thoughts Hermione had before she succumbed to sleep.

-LotE-

In the Hufflepuff dorms a silver eyed blonde haired young lady jerked awake. Looking around to try and figure out what in the world had awoke her. It took her several minutes to place it. Harry was gone. She knew it like she knew her own face in the mirror. She didn't know how she knew it, but she did.

Calling her Patronus, Claire, because it rhymes with hare, the form of her Patronus, she sent a message to Neville. "I need you Neville. Something awful has happened. Meet me in the R.o.R."

Fifteen minutes later a slightly out of breath Neville met Luna at the entrance to the Room of Requirement. She pulled him in the door and immediately latched onto him sobbing her heart out. Her best friend was gone. She couldn't feel him anymore. Couldn't feel the bond the two had shared since the end of her third year when Harry had rescued her from being raped by Theodore Nott, Slytherin, and Zacharias Smith, Hufflepuff.

It seems once word had spread that the Dark Lord was back, the mini death munchers had decided they no longer had to follow the rules. Harry had made sure that the two would never have sexual thoughts, much less any kind of intercourse again. Harry still wouldn't tell her where he had found that castration hex.

Neville scooped Luna up into his arms and carried her to the couch The Room had provided. He continued to hold her and rock her back and forth as she told him between sobs that she couldn't feel her bond to Harry anymore.

Neville looked at his watch, 0400, it was going to be a long day. Neville closed his eyes and searched for his Core as Harry had taught him. Once he found it he was able to see the bond he shared with Luna, but could not find the bond between him and Harry.

The Brotherhood Bond they had sworn to each to each other the night after the second task was gone. This only confirmed to Neville what Luna had been telling him and Neville shed his own tears for the loss of his brother.

When he found out who killed Harry Potter, their death would be long, slow and as pain filled as Neville could. Neville set the alarm on his wand for breakfast before pulling Luna closer into him and giving into the blackness.

-LotE-

Hermione was having a fitful sleep. Even her subconscious was telling her something was horribly wrong. As she slowly regained consciousness, she took stock of herself. The pain in her stomach had not lessened at all, if anything, it seemed to be getting worse. And her magic felt…. off somehow.

'What in the world is going on?' she thought as another sharp pain tore through her abdomen causing her to cry out. With her eyes closed and curled into the fetal position, she groped around for her wand. She had intentionally left it in the chair last night when Harry was telling his story, as she knew she would hex him good if she had it at hand.

Finding her wand, she summoned her doe Patronus to send a message to Madam Pomfrey. Her Patronus had changed from her familiar otter to its current doe form after she and Harry had made love the first time and up to this point had never failed to bring a smile to her face. She didn't smile this time, she couldn't through the pain.

"Madam, I need you. AAAHHH Merlin it hurts. Please Madam, my room…" as her Patronus shrank into a white ball and sped away in search of its recipient Hermione shrank back into herself in pain.

-LotE-

The Great Hall was filled with staff and students serving themselves breakfast as Hermione's doe raced through the wall coming to a stop in front of the schools healer. "Madam, I need you. AAAHHH Merlin it hurts. Please Madam, my room…" causing everyone in the room to look up at the sound of Hermione's scream.

Every sound in the Great Hall came to a sudden stop. This wasn't good. If something happened to Hermione, Harry would flip his shit and rain hell down upon the perpetrator. The last person to even call Hermione a Mudblood would never walk without a limp again. Potter's temper the stuff of legend around Hogwarts Castle.

Neville and Luna were already up and racing toward Gryffindor Tower, both thinking that whatever had happened to Harry was now happening to Hermione. Hoping against everything they held dear that nothing serious was wrong with Hermione as the broke into a steady jog up the several flights of stairs leading to the tower.

Madam Pomfrey showed an agility that belied her age as she sprang from her seat at the head table and raced from the Great Hall calling an elf to retrieve her Medical Bag and meet her in the Gryffindor Head suite. Mentally preparing herself for whatever she may find when she got there, from a simple broken bone to a gaping chest wound.

Severus Snape was just walking up behind his chair when the doe Patronus shot into the hall. Paling upon seeing it, believing he was seeing a ghost. What many did not know was that the Patronus now standing in front of Madam Pomfrey was the spitting image of Lily Potter's animagus form, much like Potter's Patronus was the spitting image of his father James' animagus form.

Seeing the doe dredged up many memories he did not care to relive, but hearing it speak and the message it delivered caused him to pale further. 'Damn you Dumbledore. I hope you know what you're doing. The pain she sounds like she's in… those two share a bond that you're trying to destroy. Please, please for all that's holy don't let it be a soul bond.' Severus's thoughts rang through his head.

Minerva McGonagall knew something was more was wrong than just the obvious with Hermione. Something had been off with the Headmaster for the last few months, other than he was trying to prepare for his own mortality. She raced from the Great Hall just a few steps behind Poppy.

Ron Weasley, sitting by himself as he shoveled food into the black hole that was his stomach, smirked to himself hearing the pain the Mudblood was in. Not that he would ever call her that to her face. He knew what happened to Malfoy, everyone knew what happened to Malfoy and who had done it, but nobody could prove it. 'That's probably the only reason Harry's still walking free.' Ron thought. In time, Hermione would be his, just like Dumbledore had promised.

The potions the Headmaster had Snape cook up were very subtle, and Ron had finally had his opportunity to slip a dose to Hermione at lunch Friday afternoon when he noticed that Harry had been absent for two days now. Good for 30 days the greasy bat had told him. Hermione would slowly start disliking Harry and find herself more and more attracted to one Ronald Billius Weasley.

Yes, life was good for Ron Weasley; he had finally got one over the great boy-who-just-wouldn't-die. Ron didn't particularly care for Granger, other than for the homework help she used to provide, and would again now that she would be his. But getting one over on Harry felt just too good to give much thought to anything else other than eating as much as he possibly could.

Ginny Weasley took one look at her brother and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had something to do with this. She glanced around quickly trying to determine if anyone else had noticed. Seeing nobody paying the two of them any attention, she quickly walked down the table to sit next to Ron, a place nobody else would sit for fear of flying food and spittle coming from Ron's mouth.

"Did you do something Ron? Did you cause this?" Ginny whispered harshly in her brother's ear. "Because if you did, what Harry did to Malfoy, Smith and Nott is going to pale in comparison to what he does to you when he finds out, and he will find out." Ron paled and nearly choked on his food as Ginny's speech permeated the gray matter between his ears.

Seeing this, Ginny closed her eyes as if in serious pain. "I'll send flowers to your funeral. I won't be there just in case there is a retaliatory strike at the rest of the Weasley family. I'd like to say it's been nice having you as a brother, but you and you alone have caused the majority of our problems since The Tournament." Ginny told her brother, getting up and walking away.

She had a letter to write, several in fact. Bill, Charlie and the twins would have to warned what happened so they would be prepared for the fallout. Her parents, Percy and Ron had made their beds, they could lie in their own mess now.

Albus Dumbledore heard the Patronus deliver its message and paled upon hearing it. He shot a quick look toward his confidant and personal Potions Master. Upon meeting Severus' eye, Severus gave him a small nod causing Albus to pale further as he closed his eyes and hung his head.

Dumbledore had completely forgotten about this particular manipulation of his. He believed that the Granger girl was getting too close to Harry and would cause Harry not to fulfill his duty, so had put plans into place to break the two apart. Knowing what he knows now, he knew it was the Granger girl and her love for Harry that caused the destruction of the horcrux in Harry's scar.

Dumbledore slowly got to his feet and began heading back to his office, mulling everything over in his mind along the way. Just what else had he forgotten about with his time drawing to a close?

-LotE-

Madam Poppy Pomfrey had seen many things during her time as a healer, but nothing had prepared her for what she was seeing now as she arrived in Hermione's room.

Hermione was screaming in pain as her magic flared wildly around her. Neville was holding from behind in a bear hug in an attempt to keep her from thrashing around and harming herself. Poppy drew her wand and immediately began casting diagnostic charms on Hermione to try and figure out what was happening. Poppy tried to throw a Body Bind curse on Hermione to keep her still, but the ropes just slid right off the next time her magic flared.

"I already tried that Madam, and intrusive magic just seems to skip right off her. I'm holding her as still as I can until Luna can find a Calming Draught in your bag." Neville told the resident healer.

Luna was already emptying the contents of Madam Pomfrey's Healers Bag onto a nearby coffee table in search of said draught. Summoning charms for items within the bag didn't seem to work, so Luna had to do this the hard way.

Poppy saw Luna's predicament, "Accio Calming Draught. I apologize Luna, nobody's magic but my own will work on items within that bag." Taking the draught, she began slowly dribbling it into Hermione's mouth as McGonagall finally made it to the room.

As Hermione calmed down and her magic receded, Poppy began to cast her diagnostic charms again and was really not liking what she was seeing.

"Her magic is leaving her Minny. Somehow, someone has figured out a way to essentially squib Ms. Granger." Poppy spoke as she was reading the parchment from the diagnostic charms.

"No, no they didn't. It's much worse than that. Someone has caused her to break a soul bond. I would imagine with Mr. Potter since they have been together for so long."

Neville had finally released Hermione and was walking towards Harry room to see what he could find. Hearing what Madam Pomfrey had to say, he stopped dead in his tracks. Spinning around to face the healer with a look on his face that promised nothing but pain and suffering to someone very soon he spoke on word.

"Explain." The command in his tone and his bearing could not be missed by anyone in the room, even Beaker, Poppy's house elf that helped her in the infirmary.

Poppy summoned a Flushing Draught from the table and spelled it into Hermione's stomach hoping to mitigate the damage to Hermione's magic.

Picking up a separate parchment she began, "Ms. Granger ingested a potion within the last 48 hours that I have never seen before. If not for its affects, it really would be rather ingenious, mastery work really.

"It has an aversion element to cause the person to want to stay away from who it is keyed to, in this case, Mr. Potter.

"It has a jealousy element to it that would cause Ms. Granger to become increasingly jealous of any female that spent time near who it is keyed to, in this case, Mr. Weasley the youngest.

"It has a very subtle attraction element to it that over a month or so would cause Ms. Granger to become increasingly attracted to who it is keyed to, again, Mr. Weasley the youngest.

"It has a trust me element to it, again keyed to Mr. Weasley the youngest.

"And finally it has what appears to be a time delayed arousal element to it. The more time Ms. Granger spends around Mr. Weasley the youngest, the more aroused she would become from him to the point where she literally wouldn't be able to control her actions with him."

Dropping that parchment on the table and picking up a third she continued, "The problem being as I said is, Ms. Granger shared a soul bond of some type with Mr. Potter. Along with the bond, the hormones from the pregnancy caused elements of the potion to kick in all at once or to alter completely.

"Ms. Granger quite literally could not stand anything about Mr. Potter for a time and did something, knowingly or not, to sever the soul bond between the two of them. A soul bond will protect from many things, forced coitus, Amortentia and the like, use of the Imperious Curse or any type of control spell for any type of coitus.

"This potion however, like I said, it really is genius level work that somehow got around the protection of the soul bond, knowingly by the creator or not. And as the punishment for attempting to break a soul bond or Merlin forbid in succeeding in breaking that most sacred bond is the person's magic.

"Magic has apparently judged Ms. Granger's actions as breaking the bond and she is paying for it with her magic, fair or not. I can only hope that whoever created this potion and the one responsible for giving it to her will lose their magic also." Unknown to Poppy, her desire for justice would come to pass.

"Pregnant." Minerva uttered with a look of shock on her face.

"Yes, perhaps 6 to 7 weeks along. A little girl if the scans are correct. Completely healthy, almost as if Magic herself is shielding and protecting the babe while Ms. Granger is currently losing her magic. It's too soon to tell if the child will be magical or not, another 4 to 6 weeks and we'll know for sure." Poppy told her.

Minerva could only nod, still in shock by the news.

Neville had questions of his own he needed answers to. "Madam, could whatever happened cause Harry to lose his magic too? I ask because both Luna and I shared a bond of our own with Harry. I can no longer feel my Brotherhood Bond with Harry, but I can still feel the Life Debt Bond from Hermione to me. Luna can no longer feel her Life Debt Bond to Harry either. Is it possible something has happened to Harry's magic to cause this?"

Minerva closed her eyes, processing Neville's statement. Poppy looked slightly worried,

"Fetch him from his room Mr. Longbottom and we'll find out." Neville turned back towards Harry's room, fearing he would find a body, entering the room he found it empty with the exception of 5 envelopes fanned out below a ring box on the desk.

No personal effects were anywhere to be seen. The photos Harry kept on the mantle were gone, as were all the research notes that were stacked in small mountains on the conference table Harry had commandeered from somewhere. Neville wasn't sure what all the research consisted of, the biggest mountain of it though, he knew was everything that the four of them could come up with concerning Tom Riddle and his Death Munchers, as Harry like to call them.

The smallest mountain contained Harry's research on what he like to call "Something life changing Nev. It'll change the world as we know it if my thoughts are correct." The rest of it, Neville couldn't even guess at. Harry would just get that twinkle in his eye and say he was trying to figure out how Snape did that cool billowing robes trick. The room was now utterly bare with the exception of furniture.

Looking at the names on the envelopes, Neville pocketed the one that was addressed to him. Returning to the common room area, he handed McGonagall the envelope addressed to her and Luna the envelope addressed to her. Looking at the last two, he also handed McGonagall the envelope addressed to "Headmaster Albus Dumbledore" and pocketed the letter addressed to Hermione, along with the ring box.

"He's gone Professor. The room is stripped back to the furniture and stone, not even bed clothes or curtains remain." Turning to Madam Pomfrey, "Madam, please keep me informed of Hermione's condition. I will have to make arrangements for her as her parents are out of the country and someone has subverted her bond with Harry. I will take care of my brothers obligations until he is able to do so for himself once again."

Neville reached out and took Luna's hand. She hadn't made a sound since they had arrived in the Gryffindor Head Suite. They would be heading back to The Room of Requirement to read their letters in peace. Passing through the door, they were confronted by most of the Gryffindors standing in the hall. Neville just bulled his way through, keeping his mouth shut to all their questions. Passing the last of the Gryffs, Neville cast a silent Disillusionment Charm on himself and Luna and continued to the R.o.R.

"Ms. Granger appears stable now Minny. I'll be moving her to the infirmary. Let me know if you need anything." Poppy told Minerva as she repacked her Healers Bag and began levitating the stretcher Hermione was now on out the door. She too ignored most of the questions from the Gryffindors as she levitated Hermione through them. The only thing she would tell them is that it would be several days before Hermione was awake again.

Minerva was still sitting in her conjured chair in the head suite. Finally feeling brave enough to open the letter, dreading what she was sure she would read.

 _Professor Minerva Anne McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Head of Gryffindor House_

 _Professor,_

 _It is with heavy heart that I have come to understand that my time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has come to an end. Hogwarts simply cannot teach me what I need know in order to survive the path that Destiny and Fate seem to have placed me on. Before I was born, a prophesy was made to Albus Dumbledore concerning a child that would be born that had the potential to end the reign of the Dark Lord. Based on circumstances of birth, the child would either be myself or Neville Longbottom. I cannot, for the life of me, understand the actions of Dumbledore from that point on. It seems to me as if Dumbledore has done everything in his power to ensure the victory of the Dark Tosser from the time my parents were murdered up until this just passed Yule Break when I took him to task over his hubris and his lack of any true action or preparation._

 _If the so called Leader of the Light cannot be bothered to help me find a way to defeat Tom and his followers, then I shall just have to seek out that training and knowledge for myself elsewhere. In my original plans, Hermione, Neville and Luna would be by my side the whole way. Recent events however have changed that. Neville is just as strong magically as I am, just more even tempered and cool headed, and he will be needed at the school in the years to come to keep the peace as I once did. This is what I have charged him with in my letter to him. Please aid him where and when you can in his task as you once aided me._

 _You have always been a beacon of strength for me Professor. Whether you realized it or not, you inspired me to always be better than I was. That small smile of approval most would take for a twitch of your lips or that minute head bob always meant the world to me and let me know that you noticed and approved. But I've always known, since first year, when a tough old Scottish Transfiguration Professor bought a new racing broom for a little orphan waif._

 _I am afraid that my road will be a long lonely for a time Professor. I will write when I can, but I do not envision it being often or regular._

 _Take care Professor, and remember me in your thoughts and prayers to whatever deity you believe in and pray to as I have a feeling I'll be needing it in the future._

 _His Grace Harry James Potter_

 _11th Earl of Blackmoor_

 _9th Viscount Potter_

 _8th Duke of Gryffinsmoor_

The letter slipped from Minerva's now boneless hands as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Oh Albus, what have you done to destroy such a fine young man. What have you done you meddling old fool."

-LotE-

Neville and Luna reached The Room of Requirement and entered into a nice sitting room. Taking a seat in one corner of the couch, Neville removed his letter from Harry from his pocket. Luna lay down on the couch, parking her head on Neville's lap. Neville cracked the wax seal on his letter, unfolding it he began to read.

 _Neville Francis Longbottom_

 _Longbottom of Longbottom_

 _6th Earl of Longbottom_

 _Brother,_

 _It is with heavy heart that I write this letter to inform you that I have withdrawn from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As you know, I was marked by the prophecy and am fated to fight Riddle until one of is dead. Sadly, it appears that Dumbledore has been trying to make sure that Tom wins this fight._

 _I am unsure what games the Headmaster is playing, or why he continues to do so for that matter, but the simple fact is that it appears to me that Leader of the Light really truly does not want to win this war. Both of us are children of the prophecy, yet neither of us has received any type of advanced training other than what we have done ourselves._

 _I had a very long meeting with Goblins Friday and again Saturday morning to get more questions answered. Dumbledore has interceded in my life since the night my parents were murdered and has known of the prophecy since before either of us was even born. With his knowledge, the two of us should have been receiving some type of training long before we started Hogwarts. Yet he does nothing but jealously guard his secrets._

 _I have a charge for you Brother. I charge you with the continued protection of my school in my absence. Yes Brother, my school. Hogwarts and Hogmeade are part of the Gryffinsmoor lands that I control now through right of birth. Hogwarts Castle was the home of the first Duke of Gryffinsmoor and did not become a school until Godric became the 6th Duke of Gryffinsmoor. Godric's son, Peater the 7th Duke of Gryffinsmoor, fled Scotland do to several assassination attempts to gain control of the school and its lands. Peater later changed his name to Dmitry Potter eventually becoming the 1st Viscount Potter due to service to the Crown._

 _Protect my school and what is mine Brother. I know I set a difficult in front of you, but I know you can do it. You have always been able to Brother. You just needed to believe in yourself. I will see you again one day when all of this is over and I can breathe again._

 _I love you Brother. Take care of yourself and Luna._

 _His Grace Harry James Potter_

 _11th Earl of Blackmoor_

 _9th Viscount Potter_

 _8th Duke of Gryffinsmoor_

While Neville was reading his letter, Luna had been reading her much shorter letter. When Neville put his letter down, Luna rose up and kissed him hard.

"Harry told me to take care of you and asked that help you protect the school and what is his. He said you would explain if I need you to." Neville simply handed her his letter, too choked up from the loss of his brother to speak for the time being.

He wouldn't let Harry down. He would also need to speak with Pomfrey to find out what type of care Hermione and the child would need. Neville was pretty sure Harry didn't even know about the baby, else he would never have left.

Neville had tried sending an owl earlier, but Hermes wouldn't even leave his roost and he didn't see Hedwig in the owlery. Harry had somehow managed cloak his magic and sever all the bonds to the name Harry James Potter. Shaking his head at his brother's ingenuity, it would protect Harry in the long run, but the loss of the bond still hurt deeply.

Neville didn't realize how much he relied on the bond to tell him just how Harry was doing beyond his normal "I'm fine." Which could really mean anything from its only a scratch to I'm on death's door step but I'm still breathing.

-LotE-

Minerva had finally recovered his wits enough to go to the Headmaster's Office. Conjuring her usual straight backed chair, Minerva placed the letter addressed to Dumbledore in the center of his desk in front of him.

"Harry has left Hogwarts Albus. For some reason, he believes that you are continually trying to stack the deck against him in this war with You-Know-Who. He says that until he took you to task this passed Yule Break that you were doing nothing to prepare anyone for your imminent demise, or to help him find a way to defeat You-Know-Who.

"Looking back at your actions, I find myself unable to argue against these facts. It seems to me that you crossed the line between helpful to obstructionist many years ago. Almost as if, if the Great Albus Dumbledore didn't know something, it wasn't worth knowing and you, to this day, refuse to share information with those you supposedly trust.

"I cannot help but wonder if you are truly a blood bigot like the ilk of the Malfoy family only you don't use violence. Either way, the Boys gone Albus, and I wish him the best of luck in his efforts."

As Minerva rose to leave Dumbledore inquired, "What of Ms. Granger Minerva. What is her prognosis?"

Minerva returned to her seat, "She's losing her magic Albus. Someone created a potion that was able to subvert and destroy a soul bond and she appears to be paying the price for it. If we're lucky, she won't lose the baby along with her magic."

Dumbledore visibly winced. He should have checked. He had access to The Book of Souls as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamet after all. Once again, his hubris led him to destroy another life, possibly two if Minerva was correct about a child, all for his quest for the Greater Good.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear it. He had started looking back at everything he had done in the name of The Greater Good the night Harry had taken him to task and he honestly didn't like what he saw.

He hadn't seen Fawkes in several weeks, since before that fateful meeting with Harry. Had he really starting treading down the path of the Dark without realizing it, all in the name of some nefarious Greater Good? Whose Greater Good he wondered? Based on his actions especially of late, a good argument could be made that everything Albus Dumbledore did was for the Greater Good of Albus Dumbledore, damn the consequences of anyone that should happen to get in his way. Even a 15 month old tot left on a door step in the middle of the night. Yes, Harry Potter was correct. Albus was blinded by his own hubris and quest for the Greater Good.

"This potion that was used Albus, it was mastery level work according to Poppy. That really only leaves me 3 suspects within the castle, you, Horace and Severus. I would hate to think that you would be capable of such a thing, but I cannot put it passed you based on what I have seen so far. I guess we'll know before too much longer when Magic starts to deliver her punishment. If you still have your magic in a few days I'll apologize for thinking the worst of you." Once again Minerva rose from her seat and left the office.

-LotE-

Potions Master turned Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Severus Snape was sitting in his office waiting to hear what happened. He had felt a tug on his magic last night while in bed. Searching his core, he found the dratted life debt he owed James Potter that had transferred to his son on James' demise had disappeared. He was not sure what had happened, but whatever it was, he wasn't going to complain about the loss of the Life Debt Bond to the son of his most hated tormentor.

It never occurred to Severus, that in his hate, he had become exactly what he always accused James and James' son of being, an egotistical bully.

Minerva entered Severus' office and took a seat without invitation. She knew already in her heart of hearts that Severus was responsible for what had happened this morning. Whether on the orders of Albus, You-Know-Who or on his own, Severus had destroyed 3 lives this morning.

"Mr. Potter has left Hogwarts Severus. He felt that Hogwarts had nothing left to offer him on the path that Fate seems to have set before him.

"Ms. Granger on the other hand is in the infirmary and it appears she will remain there for some time. Apparently, Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter shared a soul bond of some type. Someone created a potion that was able to subvert and destroy that bond Severus, and now Ms. Granger is paying the price for that action with the loss of her magic." Minerva gave a pointed look to Severus, whose face reviled nothing of what the loathsome man was thinking or feeling.

She continued, "I have already told Dumbledore and now I am telling you. If you still have your magic in a few days, I will apologize for thinking the worst of you. However Severus, If I find that you are the one responsible for destroying three lives last night, I will end you myself."

Severus pondered what she meant by three lives but gave it no further thought. He had some packing to do it would appear. Grabbing his wand from his desk where he had placed it when Minerva had come in, he waved and ordered "Pack!"

Nothing happened. He grabbed his chest in pain as it felt like someone was squeezing his heart in his chest. Letting out a blood curdling scream, he knew what was happening. Magic was calling its debt due and he was being punished for aiding in breaking a soul bonded couple, an act of high treason against the original Merlin Laws.

-LotE-

Ron Weasley was sitting in the Gryffindor common room pondering where his life had gone so wrong. It was supposed to be so simple according to his mum. Become friends with the Boy-Who-Lived and he would share everything including his money with Ron. Eventually Ron would be able to push Harry towards his sister Ginny to get them together, then the Weasley family problems would be forever taken care of with Harry's money.

That plan had hit a snag during fourth year when Harry's name had come out of The Goblet of Fire making him the fourth competitor in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Ron's petty jealousy had gotten the better of him and he had accused Harry of being a glory seeking prat whose parents would be rolling in their graves. In hindsight, it appeared that bringing Harry's parents into the argument had been what sealed Ron's fate of forevermore being banished from the being friends with Harry Potter.

Ron had tried to apologize to Harry after the first task, but Harry had found out that Ron knew about the dragons from his brother Charlie for nearly two weeks prior to the task and didn't pass that information along to Harry. This was apparently also unforgivable to Harry, withholding information that was the difference between life and death.

When Ron approached Harry and Hermione after the first task outside the medical tent, Harry had proceeded to beat the ever loving hell out of Ron. It took a Stupefy fired from Dumbledore himself to get Harry off of Ron.

The rest of the Weasley family had of course sided with family, no matter how wrong Ron was, family always came first. One thing was for sure at this point, Molly's idea of one big happy family would no longer happen where Harry Potter was involved in it in any way.

Seeing Harry and Hermione kiss after the opening dance at the Yule Ball was enough to cause Ron to see red again. He fired a Bludgeoning Curse at the back of Harry's head right there in the middle of the Great Hall in front of everyone there. Only Viktor Krum's quick reflexes with a Protego Shield prevented tragedy that night.

It would appear that this was also the time that Harry learned patience, as his revenge didn't happen for nearly six weeks. Valentine's Day morning would find Ron hanging naked from the rafters of the Great Hall by his goolies. Waking up that way in the Great Hall hanging by his bollocks caused Ron to scream in pain and fear, breaking the Notice Me Not Charm that was placed on him.

He had hung there for so long that Madam Pomfrey was not sure if Ron would be able to father children due to the lack of blood flow for such an extended period of time. Snape had tried to punish Potter for it, but Harry had said two simple words to Snape, "Prove it." before walking out of the Great Hall and refusing to serve any detention or accept any punishment for the crime.

No one could ever prove it, even checking spells cast on both his and Granger's wands could provide no proof. No evidence was ever found though everyone in the castle including the visiting schools knew Harry was responsible.

Deciding he'd had enough contemplation Ron grabbed his broom and went out for a fly. Flying always seemed to help clear his head when he was having deep thoughts. Reaching the Quidditch Pitch, Ron mounted his broom and shot 70' into the air.

Flying laps in the air Ron began to feel like someone was squeezing his chest. Thinking it was probably just heart burn from eating too much Ron continued to fly. Then the pain increased and before Ron could do anything else started spasming and screaming as Magic called her debt due. Ron Weasley lost his magic 70' in the air, crashing back to earth shattering both legs and his right arm. Screaming in pain before losing consciousness due to the agony, Ron would lay on the Quidditch Pitch until the next morning before anyone found him barely hanging onto life.

-LotE-

Harry stalked towards Gringotts. At 1230 in the morning the bank was obviously closed. Stopping at the doors, Harry pulled his dagger from its sheath at the small of his back and banged on the door with the hilt.

"Who goes there!" was heard from inside the bank.

"Harry Potter! Now open these doors before I roast your entrails as an appetizer to the main course of what little brains you process in that soup pot you call a skull!" Harry shouted back.

"Oh! So the bleeding boy with a facial disfigurement wants into the bank! Thinks he deserves special treatment does he?!" The Goblin guard replied as he opened the door for Harry. Harry placed his dagger back in its sheath before shouldering past the guard.

"Summon Boneclaw and Knutsack; I have business with Gringotts that will be worth their time." Harry told the guard as he stalked towards Boneclaw's office.

The guard laughed, "You had better make it worth their time little wizard or it will be your head decorating a pike in our lobby." The guard called to Harry's retreating back.

Harry merely lifted his right arm in the air with one finger extended.

The guard laughed again. "I like you little wizard. I hope I don't have to take you head from your shoulders tonight."

What wizards seem not to understand is that Gringotts is always opened. It would just cost you a fee, of course. Harry was already seated at Boneclaw's desk when Boneclaw and Knutsack entered 20 minutes later.

"Time is money gentlemen, so let's get down to it. I wish for Harry James Potter to disappear and Harold Evan Jameson to take his place. How long will it take you to make it happen?" Harry started immediately as the Goblin account keepers took their seats across from him.

"What you ask for Mr. Potter is easily doable; however, I would feel more comfortable about this if I knew your reasons." Boneclaw replied.

So for the next hour Harry proceeded to tell his story, completely from the time he could remember at the Dursley house up to his arrival at the bank. Thank Merlin for Goblin Time Dilation Charms, for every 10 minutes that passed in the office only 1 minute passed outside the office. These were the standard charms that Harry knew about.

He had heard rumor that the Goblins had a chamber much like The Room of Requirement deep in the bowels or Gringotts that could pass a year inside for an hour outside. This, he was most interested in.

Boneclaw and Knutsack conversed behind privacy charms for several minutes. "We will do this for you Mr. Potter. However, we would like you to visit a Goblin Healer beforehand. We can tell that until recently you suffered from a partial possession and we would like to make sure there is no lasting damage from your years with the Dursley family."

"Then let's begin." Harry told the Goblins rising from his seat. He knew better than to ask a price at this point. He had come to them in the middle of the night, it cost what it cost. Gringotts wouldn't offer if he couldn't afford it anyway.


	4. Chapter 3 - Time With the Goblins

**CHAPTER 3**

 **Time with the Goblins**

Prophesies are a dangerous thing in general. They are a remarkably dangerous thing in the wrong hands.

It was a half heard prophesy that caused the Trojan War and the resulting loss of life.

It was a misunderstood prophesy that led to the rise of Xerxes and eventually culminated in The Battle of Thermopylae.

It was an unheard prophesy that led to the fall of Julius Caeser.

And it was a half heard prophesy that led Voldemort to the Potter home that fateful Halloween night. The same prophesy, heard in full but misunderstood, that led Albus Dumbledore down the path to his death at the hands of Magic Herself.

The Goblins were well aware of the dangers of prophesies and relying on them. They were very aware of the prophesy given by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore telling of a child to be born that would have the power to defeat Voldemort. It did not say that he would or could, only that he would have the power to.

After Voldemort's defeat, Dumbledore never believed that Voldemort was truly dead, yet did nothing about the Dark Lord's followers. He simply allowed them to simply plead weak minded and weak willed with no investigation, and to walk away with a slap on the wrist. At least this is how the Goblins looked at it.

Dumbledore believed that since he was the one the prophesy was spoken to, that he was ordained to be the one to guide the Prophecy Child to his destiny. It never occurred to Dumbledore that he just happened to be in the right place at the right time to here it spoken.

The Goblins however, they knew how treat a prophecy. Ignore it. If one was aware of a specific prophecy, then one could provide aide or training or just sit back and do absolutely nothing. The journey to fulfilling a prophecy is completely up to the person(s) the prophesy speaks of. Trying to manipulate the path of prophecy would always lead to bad things.

The device the Ministry of Magic use to record all spoken prophesies based on Prophesy Magic had its twin sitting in the Goblin's own version of the Hall of Prophesies, unbeknownst to the Ministry of Magic of course. When a prophecy is spoken, a magic known simply as Prophesy Magic is generated and picked up by this device, automatically recording the prophecy into a Prophesy Sphere.

 _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…_

 _Born those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…_

 _And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not…_

 _And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…_

 _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies… (OotP)_

The Goblins have their own seers of course, and much like human seers, the more magic a seer possessed, the clearer the given prophesy would be.

Many prophesies that resided in the Hall of Prophesies are of absolutely no use because the wording is so ambiguous. So when the Goblins eldest and most powerful seer opened her blind eyes wide and spoke a prophesy for the first time in nearly a decade, the Goblins sat up and took notice.

 _The time of The Immortal approaches._

 _Betrayed by The Light, He will lose essence of his soul…_

 _Before forging it anew, twice as strong._

 _He shall flee His homeland in search of knowledge and skill._

 _Gone 13 moons from these shores, before His return for Destiny._

 _In His unknowing service to The Seven and The-One-Above-All, He shall unite…_

 _Magic, Assassin, Machine, Beast, and Outlander in The West._

 _This union shall destroy The Secret, allowing the unification of all Races._

 _And His mark shall be of Death and King._

 _Heed, The Immortal approaches._

Barely two weeks had passed after receiving this new prophesy when a pissed off Harry Potter stormed into the bank in the middle of the night.

Ragnok, High Lord of all Goblins in Great Brittan, knew damn well who this new prophesy spoke of and would bend many of the rules the Goblins were forced to operate under at Gringotts to help this you wizard. Harry Potter already bore upon his brow the mark of King in the form of Zeus' Thunderbolt.

-LotE-

Boneclaw remained seated as Knutsack rose and beckoned Harry to follow him out. Once the door had closed, Ragnok stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room and sat in the chair Harry had just vacated, "Well, what do you think of our young Duke?"

"Are you sure he's the one to unite the races My Lord? I ask only because of the immense resources you are willing to provide to aid Mr. Potter." Boneclaw replied.

Narrowing his eyes, Ragnok demanded, "I am more than positive he's the one. And why, pray tell on the fate of your head, do you not show the young Duke the proper respect by using his title?"

Boneclaw gulped at angering his High Lord, "Mr. Potter… demanded it, of both myself and Knutsack. He raised our commission from 3 ¾% to 7% and told us, that until he felt that he had earned the right to the titles he inherited, that he did not want us addressing him with his title. Each time we used his title, he would lower our commission by a half percentage point. He even had it written into the new contract. We did however; refuse to be so familiar as to call him 'Harry'." Boneclaw lamented.

A sound much like gravel falling onto a bass drum began issuing from Ragnok as he began chuckling half way through Boneclaw's explanation and had turned into a full blown belly laugh by the time Boneclaw finished. "Oh, I believe our young Duke is going to change the world Boneclaw. Provide the Healer's services for The Duke at cost Boneclaw, and offer use of the Time Chamber at 40% power for 2 years at G2.4 million and costs. If he accepts, we'll work at getting the proper tutors rounded up for him." Ragnok stated as he stood up to leave the office.

Stopping at the door, Ragnok turned back to Boneclaw, "And Boneclaw, do not tell him the cost in Goblin lives. Those that give their life force his training will be honored and Named at the feast."

Boneclaw could only stare at his High Lord and nod his head once. The Time Chamber at 40% power would cost 10 Goblin lives. At G240k, the standard Blood Money cost per Goblin life, their families and clans would be well taken care of for at least the next few generations. "Yes My Lord."

-LotE-

Harry followed Knutsack out of Boneclaw's office and down several corridors to his own office. Entering the office, Harry couldn't help but stop and stare at the spectacle in the enormous China hutch that took up one whole 15' long wall floor to ceiling. The bottom 4' of the hutch was closed off cabinet space, the next 5' was glass fronted display shelves about 6" deep, providing 6 shelves.

It would appear as though Knutsack was a trophy collector of, well, nut sacks, or scrotums if you prefer. Harry's eyes followed the long line of sacks down to what he assumed was the most recent and couldn't help himself but to laugh out loud as he read the placard. "Oh Merlin, Lucius Malfoy! Please, you have to tell me, what did he do to cause you to remove his goolies?"

Knutsack cleared his throat, with a slight smirk he began, "I have been the Black Family Account Manager for going on 59 years now. Mr. Malfoy barged into my office shortly after Sirius Black's incarceration demanding his son be given the Black Heir Ring and himself be made Regent until his son came of age.

"That particular day, I was already in a rather poor mood due to the ministry refusing to listen to or read any of the evidence that I provided them showing beyond all doubt that Mr. Black was your magically sworn godfather. His magic simply would not have allowed him to betray you, and by extension your parents. His magic would have stopped his heart and literally fired his brains before he could do so.

"You were already named as Mr. Black's heir, and as your grandmother Dorea came from the primary line of the Blacks, and Narcissa came from a cadet branch, your claim was and is stronger.

"Mr. Malfoy became belligerent and blustered on and on about having his revenge. He refused to leave my office by his own power, so I… relieved him of his scrotum as a warning not to cross me again had a couple of guards drag his still bleeding body through the lobby and tossed out the front doors and into the alley proper.

"To this day, the… man refuses to look at me much less say a word to me." Boneclaw sniffed in disdain.

Harry was laughing so hard by the end of Knutsack's story he had tears rolling down his cheeks and had to hold his stomach as the muscles were beginning to hurt. Once Harry had calmed down, he relayed his own story.

"I must be honest with you though, most of those trophies were collected by my father, his father before him and his father before him. Dating back to when my clan started managing the Black Family accounts. Only the last 4 trophies are of my contribution. But the collection is rather intimidating if I do say so myself." Knutsack grinned visciously.

"I've never kept a trophy before, though I'll probably start now. Your collection is rather impressive." Harry told Knutsack, still in awe of the rather macabre collection.

"Yule Break during my 5th year I spent at the Black Ancestral home. While searching the library I found a book titled _Dark Curses to use on Dark Bastards_. I found a castration in that book. Rather than removing the goolies though, this curse removed penis itself, leaving the sack and testicles intact, therefore allowing the body to continue to produce testosterone and to have the normal urges, but not being able to do anything about it.

"Shortly after we got back from break, a couple of Junior Death Eaters tried to rape one of my friends. I beat them near to death with my bare hands then used that curse on them. I left them outside their dorm entrance with 'Rapist' branded into their chests and used a sticking charm on their forehead with their wedding tackle attached. Being a dark curse, there's no way to reattach or re-grow it." Harry relayed the story with a feral grin.

"I think I'll start collecting my own trophies after seeing your collection. I'll take ears though. The left ear for those I allow to live and the right ear for those I kill."

Knutsack didn't say it, but his own matching grin showed exactly what he thought of Harry's story. "Come. The Healers should be ready for you by now."

-LotE-

Harry and Knutsack strode the maze like corridors heading the Infirmary. Standing guard outside the Infirmary doors, Harry was surprised to see the same Goblin that had let him into the make.

Shooting a cheeky grin at Knutsack, Harry paused in front of the guard, placing his closed right fist over his heart in a warrior's salute, "Good evening Soup Pot. I hope your night has been profitable."

Glaring at the green eyed wizard the guard ground out through clenched teeth, "The name is Gnarl Tooth, little wizard."

"As you say, Soup Pot." Harry nodded. "Have a most excellent evening." Harry sauntered past the guard into the Infirmary.

Great Merlin how he hated hospitals, both muggle and magical. Always so clean, and sterile, even the smell and taste of the air is always sterile and they're just plain creepy with all the doodads and gizmos and potions bubbling in cauldrons and ingredients always lying around. Just… creepy.

Knutsack thought he did a rather impressive job keeping his face impassive and holding in his chuckle during the exchange. When he told Harry that insult were a part of Goblin culture, he had no idea the young wizard would embrace the custom so completely.

'It's such a shame Mr. Potter does not realize that Gnarl Tooth is Ragnok's nephew.' Knutsack thought. The gold this memory will fetch, especially from Ragnok, to see this self righteous prick get his comeuppance from the young mage.

Following the healer's instructions, Harry disrobed down to his boxers and lay on a bed. With no warning or explanation, the healer waived a hand over Harry, paralyzing him and began placing 13 separate crystals at various points of Harry's body and began, what sounded to Harry's untrained ear, a long complex chant, waiving her claws over Harry's prone body.

Harry could feel the magic around him getting thicker as the crystals on his body started glowing, sending a thin blue beam of light from crystal to crystal, then a final beam to a scroll of parchment and quill on the table next to the bed. As the beam struck the parchment, the quill lifted and began writing. Harry had seen similar magic when Madam Pomfrey ran her diagnostic spells, so he began to relax with the familiar magic.

The quill continued to scratch along the parchment as the healer removed the crystals from Harry and released his paralysis. Now he was getting nervous again, as Madam Pomfrey's spells never lasted this long, usually only 30-45 seconds, never longer than a minute, and this quill had steadily been scratching away for almost 5 minutes now.

Just shy of 6 minutes, the quill lay down beside the parchment, which then cut itself from the scroll and rolled into its own scroll, moving to lie beside the quill. The healer picked up the new scroll and began to read from it. His visage becoming more and more terrifying the longer he read, causing Harry to nervously start edging farther from him and closer to Knutsack.

"It appears we have much to do Mr. Potter. Remnants of a soul shard in the scar upon your forehead, multiple broken and poorly healed bones, scars innumerable, prolonged malnourishment, several different bindings on your magic and mind; and that's only some of the major problems. I don't even want to know how you got Basilisk venom and Phoenix tears in your blood stream." The Goblin Healer ranted.

"Are you sure sir, it really is a rather invigorating epic tale." Harry told the healer.

"Very. We'll start with removing the bindings starting with your magical core; it looks like you had a small binding placed by your parents based on the date of the binding, then another stronger binding placed several months after their deaths limiting you to about 30% of your core; then your Metamorphmagus abilities, we will not know how strong this ability is until the block is removed to know if you are a partial or full Metamorphmagus; your near perfect recall memory, natural occlumens, natural legilimens; and last we'll remove rest of the already partially broken binding on your Mimicry, once again placed by your parents based on the date of placement.

"Once the bindings are removed you have a decision to make Mr. Potter. The soul shard remnants in your scar, while no longer causing any harm, can provide a great benefit to you. You can elect to ignore them which will leave you with what little remains of the curse scar, complete the remove which will also completely remove the curse scar or you can absorb them, which will also completely remove the curse scar. If you choose to absorb the remnants, you will gain what little magic and knowledge they still contain. The magic would be negligible, but the magical knowledge and the general knowledge of the Dark Lords life, while fragmented due to the destruction of the soul piece, may still prove invaluable to you.

"Once that is completed, you'll be placed in a magical coma to allow the corrections needed for the malnourishment, your eyes, skeletal and muscular development. Most of the scars from the abuse will also be removed or reduced at this time. The scars from dark magic, while they cannot be removed completely, they can be reduced significantly; like the Basilisk bite, the cut from the ritual knife and the cut on your cheek will scar as dark magic; the intent surrounding it is full of hate and malice. Whoever caused that truly meant you harm, Mr. Potter.

"I do not recommend filtering the Basilisk venom or Phoenix tears from your blood. While they remain in your blood, you are basically immune to any poisons weaker than the venom, and since Basilisk venom is the strongest poison we know of, the odds of you being affected by something, unless they are brewed specifically for your blood, are extremely low.

"Now, how do you wish to handle the handle the soul remnants?" The healer finished his monolog.

"I think I would be better served absorbing them." Harry paused lost in thought for several moments as the healer began gathering supplies.

During this time, several more Goblins entered the room; a couple of them dressed similar to the healer, the others dressed in what Harry could only assume was casual wear for Goblins, simple tunics and linen type trousers.

Harry recalled something during the healer's diatribe and wanted to know, "Healer, what is Mimicry? You mentioned it earlier and aside from the obvious definition, I'm unaware of what that would do."

"It is a rare ability Mr. Potter, more so than the Parseltongue you are said to posses. Parseltongue does not appear on your listed magical abilities though, so it is my belief that you've been unknowingly mimicking that ability from the soul shard that was in your scar. You have not consciously wanted to stop mimicking it, so you have continued to retain the ability. Personally, I would not stop mimicking it, as I said before; it is a very rare ability and will prove to be useful in the future. But to answer your question, Mimicry is the ability to mimic any special powers someone has if they use the ability against you. Say someone attacks you with an elemental ability, you would be able to, with practice, use that elemental ability later." The healer answered.

"Thank you. I don't suppose that scroll told you if I have an animagus form?" Harry asked, still shocked at the myriad of problems he had.

"One does not have an animagus form if one is a Metamorphmagus. The transformation magics are simply not compatible with each other." The healer explained.

Harry simply nodded his acceptance to this answer. While disappointed not being able to follow in his father's and godfather's footsteps; the metamorphic abilities were simply too useful to complain about.

The casually dressed Goblins moved to each corner of the room and began a slow chant, waiving their hands in a distinct pattern in the air in front of them.

Harry raised a questioning eyebrow to Knutsack, "They are placing the Time Dilation Wards, Mr. Potter. A normal charm can be extended to one hour inside for ten minutes outside. With this ward, one hour inside will be one minute outside. More powerful Dilation Wards can be used, but they are much more difficult and costly to cast." Knutsack answered.

The healers stepped in at this point, ready to begin their work. "You may need to re-forge any magical bonds you have Mr. Potter once we are completed with our work. Without the original caster of the bindings to remove them, we will have to… brute force their removal. This process will sever any lower bonds like life debts or the Brotherhood Bond your diagnostics showed. Your elf bonds and familiar bond should be fine as they are considered higher bonds."

The healer had him lie down again and hit him with another Paralysis hex. "This will be quite painful Mr. Potter. Prepare yourself."

And Harry knew pain, pain unlike any other that he had ever felt before. Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse had nothing in comparison to what he was now going through. And he couldn't even scream out; nor move a muscle, much less curl into the fetal position like his body so desired too. After what seemed an eternity the pain slowly left his body, leaving him a dull throbbing ache in his joints and muscles as if he had been put through the wringer.

'Curious,' he thought, given that he was under a Paralysis hex. As his mind cleared from the pain, he realized he was processing taking in and processing information faster, even if that information was only the new placement of the Goblins and objects in the room with him at the moment. There were no visible clocks that he could see within his limited field of vision so he was unaware of exactly how much time had passed.

"Now for the soul remnants, Mr. Potter. There should be little to no pain involved. Once the ritual is complete, we'll be immediately putting you into a magical coma. While in that coma, I suggest you utilize your natural occlumens ability to start sorting and storing memories." The original healer told him as the other two healers took positions at the head and foot of the bed.

And Harry knew no more, floating through blackness looking for something, anything. Turning in all directions Harry finally saw what looked like a lit up pitch of some kind in the distance. Willing himself towards it, it looked like an absolute mess. Pieces of rubbish littered the grounds and stands; bludgers, quaffles and snitches floated around slowly, aimlessly. He could see actual thoughts and memories sitting in the stands, and milling around the grounds. Reflexively, he caught a snitch as it lazily floated passed him. As soon as he touched it a memory began playing.

 _Harry and Hermione were beginning the dance for the opening of the Yule Ball during fourth year. They had talked about it after he asked her to be his date, and had agreed to go Muggle. She was wearing a gorgeous sleeveless, backless Periwinkle Blue evening gown with a slit clear up to maybe two inches from her right hip. The sapphire choker and ear rings he gifted her for Christmas offsetting the lighter blue of her gown and drawing attention to the jewels. Harry had elected to wear a 5 piece suit with vest, tie, and pocket hanky charmed to match the color of Hermione's gown. The fit was so perfect; it seemed as if he had been poured into the suit._

 _They started the dance at an appropriate distance from each other, both nervous being the center of attention. As the dance progressed, the distance between the two decreased. By the end of the song, the two were chest to chest; her arms around his neck, fingers laced; his right arm at the small of her back pulling her into him, his left arm going under her right arm and his hand resting on the back of her neck at her hairline; staring into each others eyes, cinnamon meeting emerald; their faces scant inches from each other. Leaning in as the song ended, Harry's eyes asked permission, Hermione's eyes and actions granted permission as she leaned up and their lips met for the first time. Her soft moist lips met his slightly dry cracked lips. Her tongue flicked out quickly, gently darting against his lips, moistening them and seeking entry. Parting his lips, giving her entry, their tongues dueled for dominance in his mouth._

" _Bombardia," they heard screamed, interrupting this moment that should have lasted forever._

" _Protego," they heard just a couple of feet from behind Harry as Viktor threw up a shield._

 _Parting and turning towards the scream they saw the curse slam into the shield with such force it actually cracked before the curse dissipated. Ron Weasley standing there panting for breath, wand smoking in his hand such force he put behind the curse. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick converging on him, fury written all over their faces. Professor Dumbledore sitting on his throne, a languid look on his face, as if nothing was wrong with the scene that had just played out before him._

The memory ended at that point, snapping him back to reality. The entire memory had a haze over it that Harry was positive shouldn't be there. The magic of it just didn't feel like it belonged to Harry. Cupping the snitch in both hands, Harry concentrated on pulling the foreign magic from the memory. Once he felt he had succeeded he looked at the snitch again. Rather than the dull gold it was when he grabbed it, it now looked like it was shiny and brand new. Releasing it, it flew off at full speed. 'Much better,' Harry thought. 'Now I just have to do that for every other memory here,' Harry sighed and got to work.

While in the magical coma, Harry was able to sort and clean up the hundreds of memories in the snitches, which he found were his most precious memories; the thousands of memories in the quaffles, which he found were his every day memories; and the sadly hundreds of memories in the bludgers, which he found were the memories of his abuse and mistreatment at the hands of the Dursleys, Snape, Voldemort, Dumbledore and so many others.

As he cleared the foreign magic away from each memory, his thoughts moved faster, so he figured this was either the remnants of whatever binding Dumbledore had placed on him or some of the magic from Voldemort's soul remnants. And he knew for a fact that it was Dumbledore that was responsible for the bindings on him now as several of the memories he cleaned up were of Dumbledore binding, healing and obliviating him when he was younger, maybe between 4 and 7 years old.

All of the rubbish that covered the grounds and stands were fragments of memories that belonged to Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort. Harry had created several large muggle rolling rubbish bins to store all this for now. It would be painstaking to go through all of this, piecing it all together and looking for things that were useful, but he would do it.

Harry slowly floated back to reality. The first thing he noticed was he was not looking threw his scratched up glasses and he could see perfectly. The ache all over his body was strong, like after a very heavy extended workout. Even though he ached, he felt good. He couldn't move anything yet, so was still paralyzed.

Closing his eyes again, he delved into his core. There it was; no longer dark gray, but a bright shining golden sphere the size of a beach ball. Flecks silver and blue and veins of emerald green and red floated throughout his core now. It was pulsing with barely restrained power. Whereas before, it was a dark gray sphere the size of a futbol, with veins of gold floating through it.

Following it around, admiring the changes, he found a smaller sphere behind it, this one the size of a softball, completely emerald green. 'What is this?' he wondered, running his index finger across it. As soon as he touched it, he couldn't see and began panicking. Thrashing about, he got a brief glimpse of the smaller core again. Shaking his head quickly and getting another glimpse, he began laughing as he pushed his now very long hair out of his face. 'That answers that. I wonder if the changes carried over to the waking world?' he pondered.

Opening his eyes again, he found his face covered by his hair. Moving to brush the hair from his face, he found the Paralysis Hex had been removed while he was checking his core.

"Welcome back Mr. Potter. You've been asleep for nearly 40 hours now and we've corrected as much as possible. It will take you some time to regain control of your body, as the change is most shocking. Overall we were able to get you to within 95% of where you should be naturally, so I call it successful. And your metamorphic powers appear to be working I see." The Goblin explained, with a slight chuckle at the end.

"Thank you Healer. You have no idea how much this means to me." Harry told the Goblin as he took in his changes as he looked at himself in the floor length mirror that had been conjured for him. "And please pass on my thanks to those that were here to help, that are no longer here."

Harry was more than pleased with what he was seeing. He now stood at least 6', no glasses, much better bone and muscle structure, and many of the scars that littered his body were now gone or barely visible at all. Except for the hair, he was not happy with the hair that now went down to his waist. It would seem that never having to have been cut was due to the bindings on his Metamorphmagus ability. Though he was not sure how it grew back when his aunt butchered it that one time. 'Accidental magic' he told himself. 'We'll call it accidental magic.'

Quickly closing his eyes, he touched the smaller core within him with the thought of shorter hair like he had before. Opening his eyes, he was very much pleased to see it back to its short messy black locks.

Harry dressed in the clothes that were obviously provided for him and joined Knutsack outside the healer's office. Together they walked back towards Boneclaw's office.

-LotE-

 _AN: I'm almost positive I read about a goblin having a nutsack collection before, but I could not find the story. If you happen to know this story or it is your story, please let me know so I can give the acknowledgement for the thought that just wouldn't leave my head._


	5. Chapter 4 - Broken Pieces - Shattered So

AN The first – I own nada, maybe less than nada. witty remarkI got nothing./witty remark Really? It's supposed to be a disclaimer not an author's note ya bloody nerf herder.

AN The second – The outcry for Hermione was interesting. Hermione still has a very vital role to play show will not be going anywhere for a while yet. I thought I had placed enough subtle information to let people know that there was something entirely different going on between what Hermione went through and what Snape and Ron went through. Apparently I was too subtle, so I went back and added what I intended to be just a a 100 or so words in this chapter to better explain things and it turned into nearly 1000 words spread through the chapter. Some information I intended for later chapters that just seemed to fit here now.

AN The third – As Kairan1979 was kind of enough to point me in the right direction, I got the idea for the Knutsack's nutsack collection from DWDuck in The Unexpected Animagus. It's been a long time since I've read that story and there has been hella updates to it, so it's back in my to read que.

 **Chapter 4**

 **Broken Pieces – Shattered Souls**

Hermione woke with a groan. It felt like every muscle hurt. Feeling a small lithe hand take her left hand she turned her head to see who was with her.

"Hello Hermione Granger." Luna spoke softly, with that ethereal voice that seemed to either draw a person in or make them nervous to be around.

"What happened? I feel like I faced Harry's Horntail." Hermione asked as she took the pain relief potion Luna pressed into her hand.

"It would seem that that is a long story. One I myself do not have all of at the moment." Luna told her, taking the empty vial from her and handing her the glass of water.

"What I have been able to piece together over the last few days is you were the victim of a very serious mind altering potion. Having ingested this potion, you started a chain of events I'm not sure the magical world will ever recover from." Hermione began to protest this accusation.

"No." Luna told her firmly. "You asked what happened and I am simply trying to relay that information. If you wish to interrupt every time you hear something you do not like or agree with, I imagine we will still be here this time next week. So listen and save your protests and questions until I have finished." Luna reprimanded.

Luna took a deep breath and began, "Somehow, Ronald Weasley was able to slip a very complex potion to you. The simplification is you would begin feeling distrust and eventual complete dislike of Harry, while at the same time seeing Ronald as perfect partner more and more and becoming more and more attracted to him until you couldn't stop yourself from throwing yourself at him.

"We have found that this potion was given to Ronald by ex-Professor Snape on order from ex-Headmaster Dumbledore. To what ends or for what purpose remain known only to the two professors at this point; that I am aware of.

"You have been unconscious here in the hospital wing for the last three days. Your magic was fluctuating and surging so wildly that Neville had to hold you in a bear hug until Madam Pomfrey could get a calming draught and sleeping draught into you.

"The morning after, Ronald was found unconscious on the Quidditch Pitch having fallen from his broom from 50 to 70 feet in the air. He was near death when he was brought in, and I am truly sad to say that he is expected to make a full recovery, though he will never cast magic again. His magic was stripped from him and is little more than a squib at this point. He was transferred to St. Mungo's last night in preparation for your awakening this morning. It would seem Headmistress McGonagall had a real fear that you would finish the job when you were sufficiently recovered." Luna took a sip of her own water, eyes still locked on Hermione.

Hermione was amazed and perplexed at this point. Why would Ron lose his magic and why would Hermione want to kill him? Blinking her eyes slowly she gestured for Luna to continue.

"The ex-Professor Snape was found shortly after this and some other information had come to light trying to leave the castle while dragging his trunk behind him. He was found by a very… irritated Neville and the Terror Twins. It seems they forcibly returned him to the castle after treating him to what George referred to as 'Muggle Fisticuffs'. I'm not sure what that is, and based on the ex-professor's appearance, I'm not sure I want to know what it is. He was not in good shape and was turned over to the care of Madam Bones from the DMLE. I would venture to guess that the ex-professor will not be receiving medical treatment anytime soon based on the murderous glare he was receiving from most every Auror that was here along with Madam Bones herself. From what I could gather, he too was found to have been stripped of his magic."

Hermione was absorbing all of this information, and really, little of it made sense to her yet. While Luna was speaking, Hermione was trying to piece together what she could remember from that night. She remembered having an argument with Harry for some reason over Harry telling Dumbledore that they were together in the biblical sense. Recalling Harry's story, she really couldn't understand why she was so upset by that at the time. ' _Maybe it has something to do with that damn potion.'_ She reasoned to herself.

Luna continued, "Ex-Headmaster Dumbledore was found dead in his office the afternoon after you arrived here. When he did not make an appearance for either Breakfast or Lunch; Professor Flitwick went to his office and found him slumped over his desk. From what I have been able to find out, the ex-headmaster to had been stripped of his magic. When this happened, the charms and other magics he was using to keep the curse on his hand at bay completely failed allowing it to reach his heart and cause an arrest. His time of death is about an hour and a half after when you were found." Luna paused, seeing Hermione looking at her ring with tears in her eyes.

While Luna was speaking Hermione maneuvered so she was now sitting cross legged on the bed with her hands in her lap, idly twirling the ring on her right index finger with her thumb. Harry had given it to her for her birthday this past September. It was a Celtic Knot design made of white gold with emerald chips along one strand, cinnamon colored topaz chips along the second and diamond chips along the last strand. All in all Hermione believed it to be one of the most beautiful rings she had ever seen. Feeling something odd on the pad of her thumb against the ring she glanced down.

' _What in the world is stuck to my ring?'_ Taking the ring off and bringing it up to eye level she slowly rotated the ring until she found what it was. There was… flesh… stuck to her ring. ' _Oh no. No no no.I smacked him hard enough to make him bleed last night.'_ Closing her eyes tightly, "Where's Harry?" she asked almost too softly to be heard.

Luna looked away quickly and replied just as softly with tears in her own eyes. "We don't know."

-LotE-

Harry was shocked. No he was stunned. Nope, that's still not strong enough. He was astounded. Yes, astounded was the proper word. Knutsack and Boneclaw were offering him the Goblin Nation's Time Chamber to train in for two real time weeks, two in chamber years for cost. There had to be a catch. There was always a catch when it came to people offering him help.

"What's the catch? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the offer more than you could ever know, but I've found there is always a hidden agenda or an unseen price I'm going pay whenever someone offers me help." Harry explained.

Boneclaw cleared his throat before speaking, "There is no 'catch' so to speak Mr. Potter. The Goblin Nation is aware of the prophecy surrounding yourself and Mr. Riddle. It is in our own best interest that we aid you in this endeavor as much as possible to see you succeed rather than our race become extinct in Great Britain if Mr. Riddle should be successful.

"We cannot provide warriors for you or fight outside these halls without breaking treaty, but we can aid you in other more useful ways. If you agree, we can begin finding and hiring tutors for you. I would imagine we can have everything in place for the first year of training by Friday. By the time you finish the first year, we should have everything staged for the second year." Boneclaw concluded. Amazed the human in front of him had kept eye contact. Most humans could not do this as they felt like prey when they looked a Goblin in the eye.

Harry had kept eye contact with Boneclaw during the entire explanation searching for any deception in what he was saying. Finding none, but still feeling as though he hadn't been told everything, Harry agreed. "I assume you have a contract ready?"

Harry read through the surprisingly straight forward contract quickly, finding nothing amiss and picked up the blood quill with distaste. "Is there no other way to sign this? I've not had pleasant experiences with blood quills in the past." Harry asked, unconsciously rubbing the scar across the back of his right hand. 'I must not tell lies.' Would forever be with him as blood quills were dark artifacts, thus any damage caused would was considered cursed and could not be properly healed.

Boneclaw took in the wizard's actions in front of him, seeing the curse scar on the young wizard's hand. ' _How many times did he write those words for them to become a permanent part of his body?_ he wondered. "No, I am sorry to say blood quills are required by ministerial law on all contract signings."

With a sigh, Harry signed his name, sliding both the contract and quill back across the desk to Boneclaw who quickly signed and passed them to Knutsack to sign. With the signing completed, Boneclaw and Knutsack both took out thick ledgers and passed them to Harry.

"These are the account ledgers for Houses Potter and Black. They are self updating, and update near instantaneously. The front halves of each of the books are _all_ monetary transactions that have occurred on the vaults, broken down by vault number. The back halves of the books are an inventory of all items currently stored in your vaults with a short description of the item, once again broken down by vault number. Peruse them at your convenience and ask any questions you have. I would… appreciate if you would save your question until you have several before asking though." Knutsack explained while Boneclaw slid a dragon hide wallet across the desk to Harry.

Picking up where Knutsack left off, Boneclaw began, "That is a spelled wallet. Once you place a drop of your blood on it, only you will be able to open it. In it you will find Muggle identification papers for both Harry James Potter and Harold Evan Jameson including birth certificates, driver's license, passports, and credit cards. A drop of blood on each item will tie that item to you and self update any photos. If any item or even the wallet is lost, you need only think about the item and it will return to your right hand. There is no exchange fee or transaction fee for the first year on the credit cards, after that there is a 2.5% exchange fee per transaction and yearly service fee of G25. The wallet will also provide you any currency you need, simply think of the amount and type while holding the wallet and it will be there when you open it.

"Credit card services are provided through HSBC and you will find that the Potter family already has a rather large investment account with HSBC that we Goblins monitor and maintain thanks to your mother. I believe many of the choices and moves she made were thanks to a weak seer ability from the Lovegood blood. Your HSBC Premier Platinum credit card comes with a free concierge service in the muggle world. If you need an airline flight, hotel room, rental car, theatre tickets, anything, call the number on the back of the card and they will set it up for you.

"The Gringotts Black credit card is good at any magical vendor outside of Great Britain. The Ministry refuses to allow any of the vendors here to accept anything but hard magical currency or Gringotts Draft. We too provide a concierge service for anything you may find yourself in need of in the magical world. For a fee of course.

"I would highly advise you to pick up one of the new Stark Tech phones available from O2. They are hardened to meet military standards and therefore magically resistant. Do not try to place a call in a heavily magical area like Hogwarts or the Alley or you will still destroy the phone. Here in Gringotts or a normal magical house you will be fine." Harry raised an eyebrow questioningly at this.

"Goblin magic is not as… volatile as human magic Mr. Potter. You could use a regular mobile here in Gringotts just fine for several hours before the phone died. The new Stark Tech phone has had no issue with Goblin magic for past 8 months it has been available.

"Lastly, arrangements have been made for you from tonight through Friday morning at the Corinthia Hotel in London under Jameson. During that time, study your ledgers and prepare any questions you have for us. Get yourself a new wardrobe your current size and probably larger. Enough to last you one year at least, and we will meet you here Friday at 1000. Any questions so far?" Boneclaw asked.

"I have a couple of friends, well, siblings in all that matters that have always stood beside me that could benefit from this training too. Would it be permissible to allow them to train with me?" Harry asked.

Expecting to hear a resounding no, Harry was one again surprised by Boneclaw's answer. "That would be fine Mr. Potter. The only real issue I see would be getting the parental permission for them to be here during that time. The cost would of course go up for supplying additional persons."

Harry bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment, "That is perfectly understandable Boneclaw. I will inform them of the opportunity and secure the permissions needed. Plan for at least 4, but I expect only 2 additional people."

"Is there anything else Mr. Potter?"

"Not at this time, thank you for your help Boneclaw, Knutsack. I will see you Friday morning." Harry told his Account Managers.

"Soup Pot!" Knutsack yelled. Once the snarling Goblin entered the room he was told, "Take Mr. Potter to back entrance into Charring Cross Station." Knutsack ordered with a grin on his face.

"And you may return the same way Mr. Potter. Soup Pot will be waiting for your arrival there Friday morning." Knutsack told a laughing Harry on his way out.

-LotE-

"Please Luna, any ideas at all, please tell me." Hermione pleaded.

"We do not have any clues as to his whereabouts at the moment Ms. Granger, but we know where he will be Friday morning." Hermione heard an unfamiliar voice inform her.

Shifting her gaze from Luna to the new voice, she saw Madam Pomfrey walking towards her with Neville and another man dressed in gray robes, gray cloak, and gray hood pulled over his head, hiding his face in shadows. Guessing safely it was the unfamiliar man that answered her, she asked him, "And where would that be Mister…?"

"Croaker, just Croaker, Ms. Granger. And he will be at Gringotts Friday morning to begin training for the task that Destiny has set before him. He sent a letter to Neville last night explaining what was happening and asking him and Luna to join him in the training." The Unspeakable told Hermione.

"Such the flair for dramatics, dear uncle. I sent Hedwig right back out with a letter to tell him of what I knew of the situation Hermione. Hopefully I'll hear something back from him tonight or in the morning." Neville told man. "Now let's get to why our favorite healer called you here."

"Why didn't you send an owl before?" Hermione asked, irritated at the obvious.

"None would even leave their stoop with a letter addressed to him. It's as if he doesn't exist anymore Ms. Granger. Both Neville and Luna cannot even feel the bonds they had with him anymore." Croaker told her.

Pulling out a thin book, Croaker passed it to Hermione. "Chapter seven Ms. Granger. It is our belief that you and Mr. Potter shared or still share a Soul Bond of some type. It is the only thing that can really account for the happenings of the past couple of days. We just need to know which type."

While the Unspeakable was talking to Hermione, Madam Pomfrey had been running her diagnostics on Hermione. "You're in good shape Ms. Granger. Your magic is quickly refilling, the bruising from thrashing around and Mr. Longbottom having to hold you so tight are healing nicely and should clear up by tomorrow. And your baby is perfectly healthy." Hermione was informed.

Nodding along, Hermione told the healer, "I feel off somehow. I can't describe any better than that, just it feels like something is missing." Then her brain caught up and came to a screeching halt. "B… b… baby?" Hermione barely whispered, dropping the book from her now boneless fingers.

"Yes Ms. Granger, a healthy baby girl approximately 7 weeks old. Another couple of weeks and I will be able to begin to tell if she's magical. The magical core begins to form at 9 weeks, the stronger the core, the sooner we'll be able to tell." Poppy told her.

Slumping back into the headboard, Hermione could only mutter nearly unintelligibly to herself. "I know I used the Contraceptive Charm every time." Luna took her hand again, saying nothing, just providing whatever support she could with the contact.

Several minutes later, Croaker interrupted her, "I know this is heavy news for you Ms. Granger, but I really need you to look at the book."

Hermione nodded and picked the book up again, taking a quick look at the index.

 _ **Common Bonds of the Magical World Index**_

 _1._ _The Twin Bond (Natural)_

 _2._ _The Familiar Bond (Higher)_

 _3._ _The Life Debt Bond (Minor Debtee, Higher Debtor)_

 _4._ _The Bond of Brotherhood (Minor)_

 _5._ _The Blood Bond (Higher)_

 _6._ _The Loyalty Bond (Higher)_

 _7._ _The Soul Bond (Higher)_

 _8._ _Other Common and Minor Bonds of the Magical World_

 _ **Chapter 7**_

 _ **Soul Bonds**_

 _Each level of the bond inherits the previous levels abilities._

 _Soul Companion – A connection between a couple that seems to reach the spiritual level. Partners of this bond are commonly referred to as 'The Perfect Couple'. The couple can and will still have their struggles at times, but the connection allows them to understand one another much better. This connection is common between long time lovers or 'Best Friends' as there is neither the need nor desire for sexual union triggered by the bond. This connection is easily broken if one leaves for a time. This bond is not protected by the Merlin Laws._

 _Soul Mate – A person(s) with whom one has a deep and natural affinity for love, intimacy, sexuality and spirituality. Each of the bonded having taken a part of the others essence within them. It is unknown what Merlin was referring to when he referred to 'essence', as the higher level bonds clearly state mind and soul. It is due to this ambiguity that this bond is considered only a Betrothal. It is commonly believed that this bond forms 'at loves first kiss.' This is the most common type of 'higher' soul bond. This bond is protected by the Merlin Laws. It is said that to break the bond will break the person, unless they are of exceptional mental fortitude. This bond is considered a Betrothal by Magical Law._

 _Soul Bound – Constant awareness of the other bonded partner(s), including direction or precise location with some effort, status, emotions and mind speech. The minds and souls of the bonded become permanently connected. It has been proven that the **natural death** of one of the partners causes the death of the other partner(s) within 72 hours. This bond is protected by the Merlin Laws. It is said that to break the bond will break the person, unless they are of exceptional mental fortitude and may still cause the death of all partners of the bond. It is said the bond will follow the partners into Death's Realm. This bond is considered a Marriage by Magical Law._

 _~NOTE~ At the time of publishing, there are two separate recorded accounts of a Soul Bound couple where one partner was murdered and the other partner continued to live the rest of their natural life. However, every recorded account of a natural death of one of the partners has lead to the death of the other partner(s) within 72 hours._

 _Soul Marked – A Soul Bound partnership with a connection so deep it takes physical form somewhere on the body. Most commonly this manifests in the form a tattoo with the first words the bonded will hear from the other or a tattoo of an item of significant meaning to the other. The bonded have a deeper mental connection and are able to share not only their thoughts, but their memories as well. The bonded can freely share magic, stamina, strength and fortitude with each other with little to no effort. The lifespan of the shorter lived will be lengthened to match the lifespan of the longer lived of the bonded. This bond is protected by the Merlin Laws. It is said a Soul Marked partnership can never be broken, not even in death. This bond is considered a Marriage by Magical Law._

 _~NOTE~ In the time before Merlin's Laws were written and accepted and enforced by Magic, some groups actively hunted Soul Bound and Soul Marked partners. They believed that these partnerships were an abomination of nature due to the active sharing and joining of souls. It was believed that the members of these partnerships could not die by an unnatural death because the surviving partner(s) would act as a soul anchor to the one(s) killed._

 _Due to The Merlin Laws, it is now known that Magic Herself is responsible for the creation of the Soul Mate, Soul Bound and Soul Marked partnerships. The members of these partnerships have always gone on to improve or protect the world in some form or fashion. Some believe that Magic works with the Gods and Goddesses to form these partnerships for specific tasks. Thus, these bonds are now protected by The Merlin Laws and enforced by Magic Herself._

 _The punishment for forcibly breaking or aiding in the breaking of one of these most sacred of bonds is delivered by Magic Herself once the crime has been made known. The most common punishment, as with most Merlin Laws, is the loss of one's magic and possibly the loss of one's life. Any other punishments are left to the local law of the land._

"Soul Mate." Hermione whispered, still in shock.

Croaker nodded. "Then Magic has taken Her due. Feel free to keep the book Ms. Granger." Croaker told her and turned to walk away.

The Ravenclaw in Luna was screaming and clawing to get out and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "Croaker, that doesn't explain why Hermione's magic was flaring and she felt like she was dying. I was there, it was painful to just watch, and everyone including Madam Pomfrey thought Hermione's core was going collapse the way it was flaring."

Croaker's own inner Ravenclaw decided the information couldn't be used to harm anyone shared what he knew. "When the aggrieved party of a Merlin Law is realized, Magic uses that person as a… conduit for lack of a better word. You see, there is only one type of magic, it is how we interact with it how we wield it or harness it that is different. House Elves, Goblins, Humans, all magical creatures, we all tap into the same Magic, we just harness it differently.

"Now hold that thought and we'll come back to it in a moment because I'm getting side tracked. When a magical vow or oath is broken, the oath breakers magic flares near exactly like what was witnessed with Ms. Granger. Their magic flares until their magical core collapses. Every Merlin Law breaker has described losing their magic as if it was bad indigestion followed by the feeling of someone grabbing their still beating heart. That was exactly how Mr. Weasley described it. Mr. Snape just described the feeling of someone grabbing his heart in his chest, though I suspect he suffers from chronic indigestion. Got it?" Croaker explained.

Receiving nods all around he continued, "Good, now back to my tangent, let's say that Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter were Goblins or House Elves, this event, while still painful, would not have caused Ms. Granger anywhere near the magnitude of pain she experienced. Goblins harness Magic in the most natural form, House Elves harness Magic naturally too, but as a cursed race, they must mix their inherit magic with that of a human's inherit magic to live, so it would have caused them more pain than a Goblin would experience." Croaker lectured.

"House Elves are slaves, they need to be free." Hermione told him.

"No they don't and they can't." Croaker denied. "A free house, with no bond to magical human, family or place will slowly get crazier and more violent the longer they go without the bond before they die. Usually 5 to 7 years. They are a cursed race, cursed by Merlin himself to serve until The-End-Of-All-Things. What transgression could cause this, I do not know and to be honest, I'm not sure I really want to know."

"You make it sound as if Merlin was more than just a man." Luna stated.

"He was. Is." Croaker told her. The Ministries around the world will deny it, but Merlin was the embodiment of Magic. You'll hear stories and tales of the time before Merlin, but you'll most likely never find a true written magical history of the time before Merlin. The time of The-One-Above-All, The Endless, The Olympians, The Titans. Most of the stories you've read or heard are based on a sliver of truth. Before Merlin, The Olympians and The Titans fought relentlessly, to the point of nearly wiping out humans on earth.

"Magic was said to become tired of their fighting and sought to correct it with prophecy. The prophecy has since been lost to us, but it is known that Merlin was the child this prophesy spoke of and he brought order to the chaos. He is so much older than we give him credit for as Merlin is only one of the many names he took for himself. Some believe that Merlin is really Zeus, though I don't put any stock in that personally. He is the first that it is said was truly immortal, bestowed upon him by The-One-Above-All.

"The Olympians, as much as they would like to disagree, were not immortal, only very long lived until they were touched and blessed by The Endless with the permission of The-One-Above-All, each taking an aspect of one of The Endless unto themselves. Hades being the most obvious aspect of Death, Ares an aspect of Destruction, every seer or oracle is an aspect of Destiny, etc… and so on.

"Now that I'm thinking of it, there was another prophecy concerning Merlin's Magical Heir I recall. I don't know the wording, only the rumors I've picked up during my many years of travel and study. The gist of it being that one marked by The Olympians and The Endless would go on to reshape the world continuing Merlin's work. But enough of that."

"You make it sound like there is more than one aspect of The Endless Uncle." Neville stated.

Croaker nodded, "There are. There are many universes out there Neville. Each universe has its own aspect of The Endless or the approximation of in their own legends and history. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. Take the Nordic Gods of old. Odin, Thor, Loki and so on. They are all real; they are all a part of a long lived race known as Asgardians from another universe that spent time here on earth, and just like us, some of them have mystical powers and some do not. According to Nordic legend, Loki's daughter, Hela is said to be the aspect of Death for the Asgardians. "

"That will enough today Professor Croaker. It is nearly lunch time and time for these children to be off. Ms. Granger, I will have Toby pop in for your lunch order. Healthy foods, as much as you can eat and a bit more Ms. Granger. Your eating for two now." Poppy interrupted their impromptu lesson.

-LotE-

 **A.N. This section contains a scene of child abuse and rape. Though it is essential to explain Harry's psyche, if you find such offensive, skip the italic section between the "~WARNING~ _ITALICS_ ~WARNING~" and the gist will be explained later.**

Harry was settled into the plush suite the Goblins had arranged him. He decided he would take care of his shopping over the next two days. He truly wasn't looking forward to it as he had no idea how to shop for himself. In the meantime though, he had several letters to write.

Over the next few hours Harry wrote letters to Professor McGonagall, Dowager Lady Longbottom, Neville, and Odd Lovegood ' _fitting name'_ Harry thought with a shudder recalling his last encounter with aptly named Odd Lovegood.

 _Harry walked onto Platform 9 ¾ and was immediately assaulted by a blonde haired blur. Stiffening for a moment until he recognized the familiar scent of Luna Lovegood he began to return the hug. Two minutes later, to the laughter of his girlfriend Hermione and best friend and brother Neville, Harry was trying to peel an overly huggy Luna Lovegood off of himself. Finally freeing himself from Luna's grip he turned to greet Neville and found himself face to face with Luna's father Odd Lovegood. Mr. Lovegood had that eerie otherworldly gaze Luna sometimes got before she said something profound._

 _Reaching up and touching the lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead, then placing his palm on Harry's chest over his heart he said, "Not a Quester, but master them you soon shall. Be careful Harry Potter for you are a lynch pin." Mr. Lovegood told him then seemed to shake himself out of his daze and moved towards Luna wishing her a happy goodbye._

' _The hell was that all about?' Harry asked himself. 'At least I know where Luna gets it from now. It'll probably make absolutely no sense until it happens.'_

Shaking himself from his thoughts Harry finished the last of his letters explaining the situation to all and asking permission from the guardians, he sent a pulse of magic through his bond with Hedwig. When she arrived, he tied the letters to her harness telling her, "Deliver Neville's last girl. Wait for a reply from each of them except McGonagall, okay?"

With an affirmative bark, Hedwig took to the air to deliver her human's letters.

Harry pulled out the Potter Ledger and began at the most recent transactions working backwards. Almost immediately his temper began to flare. Dumbledore had been paying the Dursleys 1000 pounds per month from his trust vault while he was in residence of Private Drive. 156000 pounds and he was always told he was worthless, a drain on their finances and good for nothing waste of space. Oh how he would have his revenge. ' _Well, in addition to what I've already done to those freaks.'_ Harry though with a viscous smirk.

Making notes on a new parchment roll, as he had a feeling it would take that roll and so much more by the time he was through. Stomach growling, he decided on lunch. Heading down to the hotel restaurant he enjoyed an excellent dinner over the next hour and a half. Bless those Goblins for making his ID show he was of age.

Returning to his room he found Hedwig already back, bearing three letters. Mr. Lovegood had given his permission for Luna to train with him, Dowager Lady Longbottom had given her permission for Neville to train with him, and Neville's was rather thick. Deciding to shower and prepare for bed before tackling that one, he headed for the loo.

Harry stared at the letter from his brother debating to himself. Could this be the truth, was Hermione really influenced by potions or was she just using him as his uncle told him and burned into his memory so long ago.

 **~WARNING~**

 **~WARNING~**

 **~WARNING~**

 **~WARNING~**

 **~WARNING~**

 _A seven year old Harry Potter was standing at the kitchen sink finishing the lunch dishes from his Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley. His stomach was growling in protest as all that had been left for him on his aunt's plate was a piece of lettuce the size of his hand and two bread crusts._

" _Oh my Ickle Didldums did such a good job on his lunch today. We'll get you that new action figure this weekend when we go shopping."Harry heard his aunt lavishing her attention on his cousin._

 _As he finished the last dish he heard his cousin running his immense girth up the stairs. 'Sounds like a stamped of hippos.' Harry chuckled to himself._

" _What's so funny Freak?" his aunt asked from right behind him, startling him and causing him to drop the glass in his hand._

 _He watched it fall to the floor with dread. When it hit the floor and shattered he braced himself for what he knew was coming. Not one to miss a chance at making his life hell his aunt reacted immediately._

" _Clumsy Freak!" she shrieked, grabbing the skillet he had fried the ham steak in for lunch. "Good for nothing spawn!" as the skillet made contact with the side of his head directly on his right ear causing it to immediately start ringing and Harry to stagger sideways._

" _We take you in and this is how you repay our kindness!" as the skillet connected with his back, just below the shoulder blades, knocking the breath from him and causing him to fall forward. Putting his arms in front of him to break the fall, he landed arms first in the glass that had just shattered._

 _Gasping for breath and in pain Harry curled himself into a ball folding his now bloody arms over his head, struggling to regain his breath in this position, but refusing to give her an easy target. She continued to spew her diatribe at him and hit him with the skillet over the next few minutes until she finally wound down._

" _Clean up your mess Freak, and you had better not get any more of that tainted blood on my floor. Do you understand me Freak?!" Petunia spat at him._

" _Yes Aunt Petunia." Harry replied automatically._

 _Standing over the sink pulling glass from his arms and cleaning the cuts the best he could, he put a bit of superglue he had filched on each cut. Once the bleeding was under control, he started cleaning up the glass and blood on the floor. Finally having everything cleaned up, he proceeded to his cupboard. His aunt stopped him as he passed the dining table._

" _Finally finished worthless boy?" she asked. At his nod, "Then let's check Freak."_

 _Harry saw it as soon as they walked in. Somehow, during his beating, a drop of blood managed to land on the pure white door of the refrigerator, standing out in stark contrast to the rest of the room._

" _You missed a spot Freak!" she told him as she smacked him in the side of the face. "Finish it properly this time boy and quit lazing about! That's two days with no food now!" She told him as she smacked him in the face hard enough to knock him over._

 _He had no idea where it came from, but it bubbled up and came out before he could stop it. "How come you don't love me?" Harry asked, knowing immediately it was a mistake._

" _Me! Love a freak like you?!" She asked, raising her hand to strike him again. She stopped herself, grinning maliciously at him._

" _Go to the basement Freak." She hissed. "Prepare and bend over the bench and wait for your uncle. He'll be home soon and I'll let him deal with your impertinence."_

 _Shaking like a leaf in a storm the whole way down the stairs, Harry removed his clothes and folded them neatly in the corner. Stepping up on the stool in the middle of room, he bent over the bench his uncle built just for this purpose and grabbed the handles on the other side._

 _He remembered his instructions and the consequences from the one and only time he let go of the handle. "If let go of the handles, I will beat you with the strap until your entire back is bloody boy." His uncle had commanded. He had proved that once, and Harry hadn't let go of the handles without permission since._

 _Harry had no idea how long he stood there, just that his were so tired they were shaking. Though that could also be due to barely having anything to eat since school let out two weeks ago. Finally, he heard his uncle's heavy steps coming down the stairs as they creaked and groaned in protest. Almost as if they knew what was going to happen and were not happy about it._

" _Love, Freak?" Harry heard. "Nobody could ever love a freak like you boy. Nobody ever will love a freak like you." Harry heard his uncle's pants hit the floor and started trembling just a little bit more._

" _For freaks like you, there is no such thing as love." His uncle told him. Harry could feel his uncle right behind him now. He began taking long deep slow breaths trying to relax to make what was to come at least a little less painful._

 _Harry saw his uncle pick up the Vaseline from its cradle out of the corner of his eye. "But I think to drive the point home and make sure you never forget it, I'll make sure you never forget this night." Vernon told him as he tossed the jar to the floor in front of Harry. The pain was immense and Harry had to bite down on his arm to keep from screaming out and earning another thrashing with the lash. "Nobody will ever love you Freak. Remember that." Vernon told him, "And if they ever tell you otherwise, they're lying to you Freak, using you for something."_

 **~WARNING~**

 **~WARNING~**

 **~WARNING~**

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 **~WARNING~**

Vernon was right though. Harry would never forget those words or that night.

Grabbing a new piece of parchment, Harry scribbled of a one sentence replay to Neville before sending Hedwig on her way.

The letter simply read "Bring her with you if she can travel."

-LotE-

Neville and Luna returned after lunch, Luna bringing the class work Hermione had missed over the last couple of days.

"Before we go much further, these were all that was left in Harry's room that night we found you, along with a letter to me, one for Luna, and one for Professor McGonagall." Neville told Hermione, handing her the letter addressed to her and ring box.

Taking Luna's hand he sat in a chair several feet away from Hermione's bed to afford her some privacy and pulled Luna onto his lap, burying his nose in hair. ' _Orange peel and chamomile, a scent strictly and uniquely Luna.'_ Neville thought.

Several minutes later, Hermione finished reading her letter, tears in her eyes and sniffling. She didn't open the ring box, she refused to look at it until he put it on her finger. Placing it and the letter on the side table she turned to the couple, whom had somehow moved closer to the bed without making a sound while she was turned to the table.

"He apologized for whatever it was he did that caused me to be so angry with him. He wished me the best and hopes that I find happiness with someone else. Said his uncle told him once that nobody could ever love a freak and if they did say they loved him, they were lying to him and using him for something. He said he wasn't sure what I gained from the relationship," Her hands fluttered to his stomach unconsciously, "and he was pretty sure I wasn't lying to him, but that he understood my decision and wished me well." Hermione was nearly sobbing by this point.

Luna crawled onto the bed next to her and held her while she cried. Cursing manipulative old bastards, greasy stains and useless redheads the whole time. After a time, Luna wasn't sure how long, just that her legs had fallen asleep long ago, Hermione was finally calmed enough to talk. So they discussed what they had learned from Neville's uncle, assignments from the past couple of days, and any other thing they could think of to try and avoid the obvious as much as possible.

An hour before dinner, Hedwig flew through the open window and landed on Neville's shoulder, startling him from his light doze and nearly displacing the owl from her chosen perch. With a dirty look at Neville, where Neville became 100% sure this owl would kill him in his sleep, she deposited the letter in his outstretched hand, cuffed him upside the head with her wing and took flight back out the window.

"Well, what's it say?" Luna demanded.

"It says 'Bring her with you if she can travel.'" Neville relayed, handing the parchment to Luna who glanced at it and passed it to Hermione.

"Then we'll see him in just a couple of days and try to get this behind us." Luna stated matter-of-factly.

"That we shall Luv. It's time for dinner for us, and for you to call Toby for the dinner menu Hermione." Luna said, now back to her airy persona. "Just a couple of days and we'll see the emerald eyed seeker again."

' _Oh how I would kill for a pizza right now.'_ Hermione thought.

-LotE-

Harry decided to go out to the Trafalgar Square area to try to find dinner. Pizza sounded amazingly good for some reason. Heading up Northumberland Street towards Strand, Harry was taking in the sights. As he passed Corner House Street, he had to stop and do a double take.

Running toward him was a man about his height with short blond hair, a nose that looked like it had been broken a time or three, jet black sunglasses, even with the darkening sky, wearing black combat boots, black leather pants with built in knee pads, ' _I really don't want to know'_ Harry thought, a black leather vest with purple highlights across the chest, carrying a bow in his right hand and quiver of arrows over his left shoulder.

The guy ran past several feet in front of where Harry was standing, _'Gawking more like ya lump.'_ Harry chastised himself. Hearing the whistles from the Bobbies, Harry decided it was the stranger in knee pads they were after and cleared out of the area. ' _And Vernon called me a freak.'_ Harry thought, shaking his head and following his nose to the Pizza Express on the other side of the A4.


End file.
